A Libyan air force colonel was killed Thursday in Benghazi, the latest in a series of attacks on security forces in the cradle of the 2011 revolution.

"The head of air traffic controllers in Benina military base, Colonel Adel Khalil al-Tawahini, was killed Thursday morning," said Colonel Abdallah al-Zaidi, a security forces spokesperson.

Zaidi said unidentified gunmen fired on Tawahini as he left his home in the eastern city.