A car bomb in Benghazi killed a Saiqa special forces officer and injured his son; a car bomb in March killed the officer’s brother. An air force officer was murdered in Benghazi yesterday. Nineteen people have been murdered in Benghazi since the start of Ramadan, including three Salafist imams; the killing of the imams is blamed on militant Islamists. The standoff continues between Ansar and Sharia and the Benghazi Joint Security Room over Jalaa hospital. Tarik Elourfi, a Muslim Brotherhood member, was named mayor of Benghazi in a controversial election the day after a prominent Benghazi rights activist was murdered and her husband kidnapped. Saiqa special forces said 56 Benghazi residents, including policemen, members of the intelligence and special forces services, and six females, are currently being held by kidnappers. A Sufi imam was kidnapped in Tripoli. Three Europeans were kidnapped in Zuwara.
