Khamis Gaddafi

Khamis Gaddafi (27 May 1983 – 29 August 2011) was the seventh and youngest son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and the military commander in charge of the Khamis Brigade of the Libyan Army. He was part of his father's inner circle. During the Libyan Civil War in 2011, he was a major target for opposition forces trying to overthrow his father. Education and career At age three, Khamis Gaddafi was injured in the 15 April 1986 U.S. bombing of Libya, suffering head injuries when the Bab al-Azizia military compound was attacked in retaliation for the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing. He graduated from the military academy in Tripoli, receiving a bachelor's degree in military arts and science, further graduating from the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. In 2008, Gaddafi visited Algeria, where he was received by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Khamis, who was said to be uninterested in politics, rose in prominence in the 2000s due to the exile of his older brother Mutassim, who was sent to Egypt in 2001 after being accused by senior officials of plotting to seize power from his father. Muammar Gaddafi ordered the disbandment of Mutassim's 77th Tank Battalion and created the 32nd Reinforced Brigade (better known as Khamis Brigade) in its place. By most accounts, Khamis was competent, loyal to his father, and maintained good relationships with his siblings. He was especially close to his reformist older brother Saif al-Islam and spent considerable time with him in the early phase of the Arab Spring. In April 2010, he began a master's degree at the IE Business School (formerly known as Instituto de Empresa), in Madrid. However, he was expelled by the institution in March 2011 for "his links to the attacks against the Libyan population".