The head of Libya's military intelligence service, Major General Fawzi Mansouri, was killed by the explosion of a bomb planted in his car in Benghazi. This was announced by the authorities in the east of the country. Who is behind the attack is not known for now.

The car exploded overnight between Monday and Tuesday, in the El-Huari area, near the Sayyida Aisha mosque in the city centre. Footage of the burning car appeared on profiles and platforms from eastern Libya. Two security sources confirmed Mansouri died in the blast, but did not say who might be behind it, nor give further details about the explosive device.

Mansouri was appointed director of military intelligence in 2024 and was promoted to the rank of major general at that time. In other words: a man placed in that post two years ago was eliminated by a bomb in his own vehicle, in the city that is the seat of the authority he served.

When the intelligence chief is the target

The authorities in eastern Libya condemned the killing and instructed the competent bodies to establish the circumstances and find those responsible. That is the sentence that is always said. The question is whether anyone will be found, because killing the head of military intelligence is not ordinary crime - it is a message aimed at the structure, delivered inside its own city.

Libya has been split between two authorities for more than a decade, and the security apparatus of each is made up of factions that need not be fond of one another. When the target is a man who knows the names, the connections and the money of one side, the list of possible instigators is not short - and that is precisely why the investigation rarely reaches an end.

A car bomb is an old and recognisable method, including in the Balkans. It has the same two characteristics everywhere: it kills exactly the person chosen, and as a rule it leaves behind an investigation that names nobody for years.