The head of the Internal Security Service branch of the West Coast, Taher al-Gadi, was assassinated on Monday, August 25, 2025, following an armed attack on the seafront in the city of Sabratha.
Sabratha is a small but strategic town located near the Libyan Capital city of Tripoli.
Eyewitnesses reported that al-Gadi was being pursued by two armoured Toyota vehicles, possibly Land-cruisers, before being targeted near the Najma and Hilal gate, where he gunned down and killed instantly.
Such attacks are not uncommon in Libya, in fact a day earlier some unknown armed men, reportedly including suspected mercenaries, launched an attack early on Mohamed Al-Dawi, a well-known militia boss and commander of Battalion 55.
The ambush, according to reports from Libya, occurred on the outskirts of Tripoli near the town of Zawiya
Al-Dawi however, survived the assassination attempt, but heavy gunfire during the attack left at least 12 people dead and several others injured, according to preliminary reports.
The identities of the attackers remain unknown, and no group has claimed responsibility for the assault.
The incident underscores the fragile security situation in western Libya, where rival militias and armed groups continue to compete for power and influence despite repeated calls for unification and disarmament.
In another development, the Field Marshall Commander in Chief of Libyan armed forces, General Khalifa Haftar has met with Turkish Head of Intelligence Service, İbrahim Kalın, in Benghazi.
This meeting was held just a day after Haftar had received the Egyptian Intelligence Chief alongside senior Turkish naval commanders in Benghazi, signalling a wave of high-level diplomatic and security engagements in eastern Libya.
Turkey was once seen as the closest ally of the Western Region Government in Tripoli and widely believed to have been involved in airstrikes against the Libyan military under Haftar’s leadership during the 2019 Tripoli offensive.
But now, Turkey is now moving steadily closer to the Libyan Army leadership in the east. The shift marks a remarkable realignment, potentially redrawing the map of alliances in Libya’s conflict.