By Libya Herald reporters.
Benghazi. 4 August 2017:
Salah Al-Ataiwish, the influential and charismatic head of the Magharba tribe, escaped what appears to have been another assassination attempt when a bomb exploded this morning at the Atawish Mosque in south Benghazi’s Sidi Faraj district after dawn prayers,
He was not near the blast when it occurred. However, two of his sons, Salah and
Belgasem, and their cousin Salem Belhassan Al-Ataiwish,
were reported injured along with four others. It is believed that a suicide vest packed with explosives left at the entrance by the shoes blew up as they were leaving.
It is the second attempt to on Ataiwish’s life. Last November, a bomb exploded under his car outside the same mosque as he was leaving just after Friday prayers. In that instance, he was seriously wounded and was in the UAE for several months for treatment.
At the time the attack was linked to his earlier role in ensuring that members of the Magharba tribe working at the oil terminals of Ras Lanuf and Sidra switched sides from Ibrahim Jadhran to the Libyan National Army. It was this that enabled the LNA to take the terminals.
