Benghazi Security Chief Assassinated in Overnight Attack

Another high profile assassination is underscoring just how insecure the Libyan city of Benghazi actually is, this time with National Security Chief Col. Farag al-Dersi gunned down on his way home from work.

Dersi has been focusing on the security situation in Benghazi, the second-largest city in Libya, with renewed attention since the September 11 assassination of US Ambassador Christopher Stevens in an attack on the American consulate.

So far no group has claimed credit for the Dersi assassination, and officials say that three gunmen shot him in front of his house, killing him, and fled the scene totally unidentified. The success of this attack just underscores how poor security is, even for top officials in Benghazi.

Several groups could be behind such an attack, after the Libyan interim government announced its intention to bring every single rebel militia under direct control and threatened crackdowns on their former allies who refused to comply. Though many militias were already under de facto control, many also were not, and Dersi would likely oversee the crackdown in Benghazi.