Al Jazeera Staffer Killed in Libya

Al Jazeera cameraman Ali Hassan Al Jaber was returning from an assignment Saturday near the rebel-held city of Benghazi when he was shot and killed by sympathizers of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Al Jazeera reported today.

Fellow Al Jazeera correspondent Baybah Wald Amhadi said on-camera that the crew had felt that it was being watched for days, and had informed the management of its Benghazi hotel, which improved security, according to the Associated Press. 

Amhadi said the crew's car came under fire from the rear. Al Jaber was shot three times in the back and a fourth bullet hit the correspondent near the ear, he said.

"Even areas under rebel control are not totally safe," said Amhadi. "There are followers, eyes or fifth columns, for Col. Gaddafi."

Al Jazeera Director-General Wadah Khanfar said the network "will not remain silent" and would pursue those behind the ambush through legal channels.

He said that the killing came after "an unprecedented campaign" against the network by Gaddafi.

 Al Jaber, a Qatari national, was born in 1955 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees in cinematography from the Academy of Arts in Cairo. He was the director of CNBC Arabiya TV bureau in Qatar, according to Al Jazeera.

He also served as a supervisor in the National Olympic Committee between 2002 and 2005 and held the office of Head of Filming Section in Qatar Television for more than 20 years.

During his tenure, he produced a number of documentaries including one on Qatar and another on Kuwait entitled "Plight and Tribulation."