Gaddafi’s Daughter-in-Law Claims Damascus Incident was an Attempted Kidnap

General view shows Damascus, Syria. Reuters file photo
General view shows Damascus, Syria. Reuters file photo
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Gaddafi’s Daughter-in-Law Claims Damascus Incident was an Attempted Kidnap

General view shows Damascus, Syria. Reuters file photo
General view shows Damascus, Syria. Reuters file photo

The daughter-in-law of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has expressed her desire to leave Syria, where she is granted political asylum.

Aline Skaf is claiming that security forces attempting to arrest her in Damascus last week was part of a larger plot to kidnap her. She expressed fears of meeting the same fate as her husband, Hannibal Gaddafi, who is currently detained in Lebanon.

On January 24, security forces scrambled in the Chiekh Saad neighborhood in the Syrian capital after Skaf having rammed her car into police officers and pedestrians in a road rage attack, local witnesses reported.

Skaf, however, was spirited away by an influential Syrian official who saved her from being arrested.

The former model’s defense attorneys released a message directed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, telling their client’s side of the story and stating that she was dealt a great deal of injustice.

Circulated on social media platforms and by media outlets in Lebanon, the letter voiced Skaf’s concerns that she has overstayed her welcome in Syria.

“We thank you for hosting us for five years, and for granting us safety, but I think that our visit was prolonged and guests must not outstay their welcome,” it said.

Recounting the events of the incident, the letter noted that Skaf was heading to shop in the Mezzeh area with her friend and 15-year-old son.

While Skaf was parked by the side of the road waiting to collect her purchases from a nearby store, a policeman showed up and pulled her over requesting documents.

“She complied with the officer’s request and told him that she would not park for too long,” the letter confirmed, adding that the policeman had blocked Skaf’s way with his motorbike and refused to allow her to leave.

The officer also denied Skaf’s request to have her escorting bodyguards sort out the situation, despite them producing needed identification.

According to Skaf, the policeman used inappropriate language and proceeded to sit on her vehicle’s hood.

Maintaining that there was another officer filming the quarrel, the letter said that the speed at which Syrian opposition media outlets reported the incident confirms that it was a set up aimed at undermining Syrian leadership.

The letter stressed that danger looms over members of Hannibal Gaddafi’s family.



Six Local Officials Detained Over Iraq Deadly Mall Fire

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
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Six Local Officials Detained Over Iraq Deadly Mall Fire

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits a five-story shopping center after a massive overnight fire killed multiple people, in Al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

Iraq has detained six local officials and suspended other public employees following a fire that killed 61 people at a shopping mall earlier this week, authorities said Saturday.

The blaze broke out late Wednesday in a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut.

After an initial investigation, the interior ministry said "there was clear negligence among several officials and employees" in Kut, located around 160 kilometers southeast of Baghdad.

It added that three local officials, including the head of civil defense in Kut, had been detained, and 17 employees suspended from work until further notice.

The Commission of Integrity, an anti-graft body, said later that security forces had detained three more officials "over the violations that led to the fire" at the Corniche Hypermarket Mall, including the head of the violations department at Kut's municipality.

Officials say their investigation is ongoing, and the number of detainees may change.

The cause of the mall fire was not immediately known, but one survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded on the second floor before the five-story building was rapidly engulfed in flames.

Several people told AFP they lost family members -- and in some cases whole families -- who had gone to shop and dine at the mall days after it opened.