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| Africa North |
| Libya Army Head Reportedly Target Of Assassination Attempt |
| 2011-12-10 |
| Gunmen tried to kill the head of the Libyan army Saturday in a bold daylight attack in the country's capital, setting off hours of intense gunbattles along the main highway to the airport. Assailants in Tripoli also attacked one of Libya's largest military bases. The gunmen were believed to be from renegade groups of former rebel fighters. The violence deepens concerns about unity among the ex-rebels -- many of whom remain heavily armed -- while the police and military struggle to restructure their forces after the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi. Military officials said revolutionary fighters from the western mountain town of Zintan were likely behind the violence. They spoke on condition of anonymity because an investigation was still under way. The violence began in the morning with the attack on the army chief of staff's convoy as it moved from his home in Tripoli to the military headquarters, said a military spokesman, Sgt. Abdel-Razik el-Shibahy. A group of armed men at a mock checkpoint tried to stop them, but Gen. Khalifa Hifter's convoy swerved from the checkpoint and drove over a nearby bridge where they were shot at by two gunmen positioned on the other side, el-Shibahy said. So the plotters set up a fake checkpoint, planning that the convoy would divert, and then covered the most likely diversion route. Not bad. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #2 Well at least this one survived. The previous one wasn't so lucky. |
| Posted by: Charles 2011-12-10 22:19 |
| #1 Oh YES pissed off somebody, did he. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2011-12-10 15:00 |