Assassination attempt on Libya army head
2011-12-10 21:45
Tripoli - A spokesperson for Libya's military says gunmen tried to kill the head of the army in a bold daylight attack in the country's capital.
Infantry spokesperson Abdel-Razik el-Shibahy says the army chief of staff was in a convoy on Saturday travelling from his home in Tripoli to the military headquarters when a group of armed men at a fake checkpoint tried to stop them.
He says 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.
The spokesperson says no one in the convoy was harmed and that soldiers arrested the two gunmen, who are in military custody for questioning.
Hifter's son, Belgasim, blamed a rival group of ex-rebel fighters.
- AP
