Prominent Libyan activist assassinated: security

A prominent Libyan political activist was shot dead while an army and a police officer were killed in separate attacks in the restive city of Benghazi, a security official said.

Abdessalem al-Mesmari, an anti-Islamist lawyer who has been campaigning for a civil state in Libya, "was shot dead as he left a mosque and killed by a single bullet to the heart," Colonel Mohammed al-Hijazi said.

Later Friday, two officers were killed in separate attacks in Benghazi.

Airforce officer Colonel Salem al-Sarah was also killed as he emerged from a mosque, said Hijazi. And police officer Colonel Khatab Abdelrahim al-Zwei was shot dead at the wheel of his car.

Mesmari was among the first Libyans who launched an uprising against now slain dictator Muamar Gaddafi in 2011. He helped found the political wing of rebels who later overthrew the regime.

After the revolution he took a prominent stand against the Muslim Brotherhood, which he accused of striving to take power in Libya despite popular discontent.

"Politics is virgin ground in Libya and the Brotherhood are trying to rape it," Mesmari was quoted as saying in 2011.

Benghazi was the cradle of the uprising against Gaddafi.

In recent months however, Libya's second city has been hit by a wave of bombings and assassinations targeting judges, the military and police officers who worked under the ousted regime.

Attacks generally blamed on radical Islamists have also been carried out against Western interests, include a June 5 attempt to kill Jean Dufriche, France's honorary consul in Benghazi.

On September 11 last year, Islamist militants attacked the US consulate in Benghazi, killing ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.