Tripoli, July 31 (ANI): Libyan rebels' military chief Abdel Fattah Younis was shot dead by Islamist-linked militia within the anti-Gaddafi forces, a senior opposition minister has said.
The transitional government's oil minister made the claim, provoking fears of future unrest and instability among those fighting the old regime, the Guardian reports.
Gaddafi's regime earlier claimed that the Al-Qaeda was responsible for the killing Younis.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said that the terror network shot dead the general to 'mark out its presence and influence' in the east of the country, where the opposition has its power base.
He added that the killing was proof that the National Transition Council (NTC) had no power in Benghazi, which is considered the rebels' stronghold.
General Younis, who had served as Libyan interior minister, defected to the rebels early in the conflict.
A three-day mourning was planned for Younis in the rebels' stronghold of Benghazi.
The death was announced as the rebel forces launched a broader assault on government forces on Thursday, seizing three small towns in western Libya while advancing toward the town of Badr and two other areas. (ANI)
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