Gaddafi's son is killed during an assassination in the backyard

Saif al-Islam Gaddhafi, son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddhafi, has been killed, announced on Tuesday for Al Arabiya a close source of the Gaddhafi family.

As reported Al JazeeraFour attackers shot Saif al-Islam in his garden and then left the scene.

Libyan state news agency LANA also reported his death, citing his adviser, Abdallah Othman.

Saif al-Islam had long been seen as his father's successor. In 2021, he announced that he would run for president, but those elections were postponed indefinitely, writes Al Arabiya.

The death of 53-year-old, long-time viewed as his father's potential successor, was reported Tuesday by the head of his political team, according to the Libyan News Agency.

His sister told Libyan television that he had died near the country's border with Algeria, without confirming the way death happened, reports BBC.

Contradictations still remain unclear as to how he died, while conflicting reports are circulated in Libyan media. Saif al-Islam Gaddhafi has long been considered the most influential and frightening figure in the country after his father, who ruled Libya from 1969 until he collapsed and was killed during a uprising in 2011.

Born in 1972, he played a key role in Libya's approach to the West from 2000 to the collapse of the Gaddafi regime.

Following his father's ouster, Saif al-Islam Gaddhafi, who was charged with having a key role in the brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, é was imprisoned by a rival militia in the town of Zintan for nearly six years.

The International Criminal Court had demanded that it stand trial for crimes against humanity for its alleged role in the crackdown on opposition protests in 2011. /Periscope/