Car Bomb Kills Eastern Libya's Military Intelligence Chief

The head of the Military Intelligence Department for eastern Libyan forces, Major General Fawzi al-Mansouri, was killed in a car bomb attack in Benghazi on Monday. A security official said Mansouri died after an improvised explosive device (IED) planted under his vehicle detonated as he was about to enter the car in front of his house in the al-Sayyida Aisha district of eastern Benghazi. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the attack as a “terrorist operation.”

According to the official, the explosion deliberately targeted Mansouri. There has been no official statement from the authorities regarding the assassination of the eastern forces’ military intelligence chief or who was behind the attack.

Mansouri was a senior official within the military structure led by Khalifa Haftar, the strongman who controls much of eastern and southern Libya. He previously served as commander of the Sabha Military Zone from 3 August 2021. Haftar subsequently appointed Mansouri as head of the Military Intelligence Department on 20 May 2024, a position that made him one of the key figures in the eastern forces’ security apparatus.

The assassination occurred as Libya remains divided between two rival governments. The internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU), led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, is based in Tripoli and controls the western region. Meanwhile, the eastern region and much of the south are under the control of a government appointed by the House of Representatives, currently led by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi. This political schism has persisted for years, rooted in the conflict that followed the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, leaving the country grappling with unresolved security challenges and power struggles. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has been working to advance a political process leading to elections, which are hoped to end the dual governance and ongoing armed conflict.