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Middle East|Libyan Military Leaders Are Killed in Plane Crash in Turkey
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/world/middleeast/libya-general-plane-crash-turkey.html
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The internationally recognized government of Libya confirmed the deaths of Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, the army chief of general staff, and other officers flying home after a meeting in Turkey.
Dec. 23, 2025Updated 5:53 p.m. ET
Libya’s highest-ranking army officer, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, and four other Libyan military officials were killed in a plane crash in Turkey on Tuesday night, according to the Libyan prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeiba.
General al-Haddad, the Libyan military’s chief of general staff, had been meeting in Turkey with his counterpart, the Turkish defense minister and other military officials on Tuesday, the Turkish military said. He later left in a private jet to return to Libya, according to Turkey’s Interior Ministry.
In the evening, Turkish officials said that the plane he and four other passengers had been traveling in lost radio contact shortly after taking off from Ankara, the Turkish capital. Three crew members were also on board, the Turkish government said.
The wreckage of the aircraft, a Falcon 50 jet, was found in the Haymana district of Turkey, about 40 miles southwest of central Ankara. Turkish television on Tuesday night showed crews searching the site, where pieces of the plane were scattered all around.
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The Turkish government’s chief spokesman, Burhanettin Duran, said late on Tuesday that the private jet reported an electrical failure to air traffic controllers and requested an emergency landing about 15 minutes after taking off.
