By Libya Herald reporter.
Benghazi, 19 May 2017:
One of the leaders of the Awagir tribe, Braik Ellawati, was killed today when a bomb placed under his car blew up. He has just left Friday prayers at the Bilal ben Rabah Mosque in Soloug where he lived with his family.
His youngest son Salem, aged 9, also died in the blast, according to a relative who added that five others, including children, were also killed and 18 people injured. “It was a massive explosion”, the relative told the Libya Herald.
Two other cars were destroyed in the blast.
He was later buried in the cemetery in Soloug – the same cemetery where Libyan hero Omar Mukhtar is buried.
The reason for Ellawati’s death and those responsible are unknown. He was close to Khalifa Hafter and it is being suggested that the Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council may have been involved.
Reports that he recently called for Presidency Council defence minister Mahdi Al-Barghathi, also a member of the Awagir tribe, to be allowed to return to Benghazi have not been confirmed.
