Gunmen killed a lawyer and prominent Libyan political activist in the eastern city of Benghazi yesterday, a security official and residents said.

The attack appeared to be the first against an activist in the city although security forces have been frequently targeted. Lawyer Abdelsalam al-Mosmary was killed after he left a mosque to make his way home.

“He was coming out of Friday prayers when he was shot,” Benghazi security spokesman Mohammed al-Hijazy said. “It seems it may have been the work of a sniper because he was shot in the heart.”

Appearing regularly on TV, Mosmary would voice his discontent over the presence of armed militias on Libya’s streets as well as his opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood.

“This has never happened before, this a first in Benghazi,” said Kais al-Bakshishi, a political activist.