By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 20 February 2014:
Othman Milaiqtah, the commander of the Qaaqaa Brigade, has . . .[restrict]been gravely injured late this afternoon in what is variously being called an assassination attempt or a car accident.
Abdulmajid Milaiqtah, the chairman of the National Forces Alliance Steering Committee, has told the Ajwa Liblad Facebook news agency that his brother had survived an assassination attempt and that he was now in intensive care in a Tripoli hospital.
Some Zintani sources also say there was an assassination bid. Others, however, say that the Qaaqaa commander was injured in a car crash in Ras Al-Afaa near Azziziya, in which Salah Al-Madani, nephew of the celebrated Zintan martyr Mohamed Al-Madani, was killed. He was the brother of Ibrahim AL-Madani, a Zintan brigade leader.
A leading Military Police source told the Libya Herald that there were no clear details as yet. They had had two conflicting reports. The first was that Salah Al-Madani had had an argument with Milaiqtah and shot him, and then been shot dead by Milaiqtah’s guard. The other was that the car being driven by Madani had crashed in an ordinary accident.
Various reports claim that the shooting incident took place at the 7 April camp in Tripoli, Qaaqaa’s headquarters.
There are also conflicting reports about Milaiqtah’s present whereabouts. Sources in Zintan claim that he has been taken to hospital to Tunisia, not in Tripoli.
Earlier this afternoon, Milaiqtah had announced that he was going to give a press statement. But he did not. According to a reporter who was waiting for the statement, Milaiqtah abruptly left, apparently to meet a group of elders. It was while driving to meet them that the accident/assassination attempt supposedly occurred.
Two days ago, the Qaaqaa brigade issued an ultimatum to Congress members saying that if they did not resign within five hours they would be arrested. [/restrict]
