Gunmen Assassinate Deputy Industry Minister in Libya

Country plagued by widespread violence

Gunmen killed Libya's deputy industry minister as he drove home from shopping in the coastal city of Sirte late on Saturday in an attack security officials blamed on hardline Islamist militants.

Libya is still plagued by widespread violence and targetted killings more than two years after the civil war ousted Muammar Gaddafi, with militants, militia gunmen and former rebels often resorting to force to impose demands on the fragile government.

The minister, Hassan al-Drowi, was shot several times, a senior security official said, asking not to be identified.