Car bomb kills eastern Libya intelligence chief Fawzi al-Mansouri in Benghazi

The assassination

Fawzi al-Mansouri, a brigadier general in his fifties and director of military intelligence for the Libyan National Army (LNA), was killed on Monday evening, 10 August, when an explosive device attached to his vehicle detonated as he left the Sayyida Aisha mosque in the al-Hawari district of Benghazi. The LNA announced his death in a statement issued overnight, denouncing a "cowardly and criminal act." Photos circulated on social media showed a burning vehicle, with al-Mansouri's charred body visible beside it. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The killing is one of the first targeted assassinations of such a high-ranking LNA figure in approximately a decade, according to a regional specialist cited by AFP. Since 2014, no targeted killings of LNA officers or security forces had been recorded in Benghazi, a period during which the Haftar family has promoted its security record in the east.

A key figure in the Haftar apparatus

Al-Mansouri, originally from Ajdabiya in northeastern Libya, had served as head of military intelligence since 2024. He was one of the most important military commanders in the LNA and was closely associated with Khalifa Haftar and his sons Khaled and Saddam, the latter being the designated successor to his octogenarian father. Between 2014 and 2017, al-Mansouri played a crucial role in the battles that established Haftar's control over eastern Libya by pushing back jihadist groups. He was also instrumental in planning and executing the 2019 offensive on Tripoli, which ended in 2020 with the withdrawal of Haftar's forces to Sirte.

Saddam Haftar attended al-Mansouri's funeral and declared that the perpetrators "will not escape punishment." Khaled Haftar, another of Khalifa's sons holding senior LNA posts, told AFP the attack was "terrorist" in nature and that "indicators point to a despicable terrorist tactic." A senior military official told AFP that eastern authorities suspected a jihadist attack, while awaiting the completion of investigations. Khaled Haftar's office later announced the arrest of a "terrorist cell in Benghazi preparing acts of sabotage," without linking it directly to the assassination.

Implications for reunification

The assassination comes at a sensitive moment for Libya's political trajectory. A Washington-mediated plan to reunify the country's divided institutions, publicly backed by the LNA, is under way. Massad Boulos, special advisor to Donald Trump for the Arab world, has been involved in the mediation effort, according to La Repubblica.

Libya expert Jalel Harchaoui said the killing would "disrupt, or at the very least delay" the US-brokered deal.

The agreement rests on two premises: that security reigns supreme in Benghazi, and that for senior officers, loyalty to Saddam (Haftar's son and heir apparent) guarantees protection in the Benghazi stronghold.

Hamish Kinnear, an analyst with UK-based Verisk Maplecroft, told AFP that "an attack of this sophistication in an LNA stronghold is also a major blow to the group's security credentials" and that "none of this bodes well for a US plan to re-unify Libya."

The intelligence required to target such a high-profile figure successfully is indicative of significant capabilities on the part of the responsible actor.

Libya's divided landscape

Since the fall and death of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been governed by two rival administrations: the UN-recognised government in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and a rival authority in Benghazi backed by Khalifa Haftar and the parliament. The LNA controls the entire east and large parts of the south, while the west experiences regular clashes between armed groups. Reuters reported that the attack followed a modus operandi characteristic of score-settlings targeting Libyan military officials, and that several military and militia leaders have been assassinated in recent months in Tripoli and western Libya, with investigation results never made public.