The death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is no longer news, although there are still contradicting reports about his death. Numerous public critics have regarded the events preceding up to his assassination as a dangerous, unlawful, and deliberate military escalation.
Recall that Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28, was declared dead following a joint military operation by the US and Israel that ended his more than three decades of rule.
A check by WITHIN NIGERIA revealed that the deceased Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, had a history of being removed from power via external military intervention, targeted strikes, coups, or assassination.
Here are seven leaders slain during targeted and insurgent operations:
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Lumumba was the DRC’s first democratically elected Prime Minister. He was slain on January 17, 1961, after being apprehended by Congolese forces loyal to Joseph Mobutu and transported to Katanga, a separatist region.
According to sources, Lumumba was beaten, tortured, and eventually executed by a firing squad on the orders of Katangese officials, with the assistance of Belgian and US intelligence officers.
Additional sources further disclosed that Lumumba’s body was dissolved in acid to dispose of his remains, making it difficult to verify the exact cause of death.
Anwar Sadat (Egypt)
Anwar Sadat was Egypt’s previous president. On October 6, 1981, he was assassinated in Cairo during a military procession commemorating the eighth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.
Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli and other Egyptian Islamic Jihad members, who opposed Sadat’s peace treaty with Israel and his dictatorial rule, are believed to have shot him.
According to other sources, he died approximately two hours later from “violent nervous shock and internal bleeding in the chest cavity, where the left lung and major blood vessels below it were torn.”
Thomas Sankara
Thomas Sankara was the former President of Burkina Faso. He was slain on October 15, 1987, during a coup d’état led by Blaise Compaoré, a former colleague.
According to sources, he was at a conference with his advisors at the Conseil de l’Entente headquarters when armed soldiers arrived and shot him many times, killing him along with 12 other officials.
Additional stories suggested that the assassination was part of a bigger conspiracy involving Compaoré, Liberian warlord Charles Taylor, and possibly foreign powers such as France.
Saddam Hussein (Iraq)
Saddam Hussein was the former president of Iraq. He was executed in cold blood by hanging on December 30, 2006. He was found guilty of crimes against humanity for his involvement in the 1982 Dujail massacre, which killed 148 Iraqi Shi’ites.
The execution occurred at Camp Justice, a joint Iraqi-US military base near Kadhimiya, Baghdad.
According to one reputable source, Saddam was carried to the gallows, where a noose was placed around his neck and he recited the Shahada, a Muslim prayer, before the trapdoor opened and he fell to his death.
Several officials, including Sami al-Askari, a prominent Shi’ite politician, witnessed Saddam’s execution, which he characterized as “very quick.”
Muammar Gaddafi (Libya)
Muammar Gaddafi was the former leader of Libya, an African country, until his death. He was slain on October 20, 2011, after being apprehended by National Transitional Council (NTC) forces in Sirte, Libya.
According to reports, Gaddafi was discovered hiding in a drainage pipe with six loyalist bodyguards, and he was wounded in the process.
Additional reports claimed that he was dragged and assaulted by rebels before being shot in the head and abdomen.
However, the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear due to conflicting accounts attributed to reputable sources, with some claiming he was killed in a gunfight and others claiming he was executed.
Idriss Déby (Chad)
Idriss Déby was the former President of Chad. He died on April 20, 2021, after being injured in a combat with rebels near the village of Nokou. Déby, who died at the age of 68, was unable to withstand an attack launched by rebels from the Front for Change and Concord in Chad.
According to accounts, Déby was hit in the hip during the battle and died of his injuries at a hospital in N’Djamena.
Some speculated that Déby’s death was the result of a revenge attack by members of his own Zaghawa tribe, who sought retribution for the murder of Yaya Dillo, a Zaghawa opposition leader.
Ali Khamenei (Iran)
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, was recently murdered in an airstrike by the United States and Israel on February 28, 2026, at his office compound in Tehran.
According to the article, the attack, which was part of a broader military operation, also killed numerous members of his family, including his daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter, and daughter-in-law.