TRIPOLI, Libya: Gunmen shot and killed Libya's intelligence chief in charge of the country's eastern sector in an attack Thursday in the city of Benghazi, security officials said.

 

The attackers intercepted the car of spy chief Ibrahim Senussi as he was driving downtown in front of the Central Benghazi Medical Center, officials from the city's security directorate said.

 

As the gunmen forced Senussi's car to halt, they shot him three times - in the head, neck and chest - and he died of his wounds, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

 

The gunmen then fled the scene of the attack. The police said no one had been apprehended in the assassination.

 

Libya has seen a severe deterioration in security since the civil war that led to the ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Authorities have depended on unruly militias in the absence of a strong police force or a unified military.

 

In particular, Benghazi - the birthplace of the 2011 uprising - has witnessed a series of attacks, targeted killings and bombings, mostly striking soldiers and police officers who served under the ousted ruler.

 

Earlier this week, an attack on the security forces' headquarters in Benghazi left nine people dead and 24 wounded.

 

Senussi, who had joined the rebels in the 2011 uprising, had reached the rank of colonel when he served in Libyan intelligence under Gadhafi.