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Texas teacher gunned down in Benghazi

TRIPOLI, Libya  – Unknown assailants fatally shot an American teacher while he was jogging Thursday in Benghazi, officials said, underlining persistently tenuous security in the eastern Libyan city where the US ambassador was killed last year.

The teacher was  identified as Texas native Ron Smith, who taught chemistry at the International School Benghazi, according to CBS News and Reuters.

“He was doing his morning exercise when gunmen just shot him. I don’t know why. He was so sweet with everyone,” school director Adel al Mansouri told Reuters.

Fadyah al-Burghathi, spokeswoman for the Al-Galaa hospital, said teacher was brought to her medical center on Thursday with gunshot wounds. The International School is a Libyan-owned institute that follows an American curriculum.

No one has claimed responsibility for the teacher’s killing but suspicion is likely to fall on Islamic militants active in the city.

Students stand outside the Benghazi International School, where Ron Smith taught.Getty Images

The security official, Ibrahim al-Sharaa, said the American was jogging near the US Consulate, where the US ambassador and three other Americans were killed by Islamic militants in September 2012.

The American was one of four people killed in Benghazi today and whose bodies were taken to the Al-Galaa hospital, showing the dangers of a city that is home to numerous armed groups resisting the central government’s authority. The other three were military personnel.

Ron Smith with his wife.Twitter

Libya’s heavily armed militias, with roots in the 2011 war against dictator Moammar Gadhafi, have proliferated since his overthrow. They have since undermined successive transitional governments and parliament.

Libyan security forces clashed in Benghazi last month with Ansar al-Shariah, a hard-line Islamist militia blamed for the consulate attack. Ansar al-Shariah faces a backlash from residents who have marched against it both in Benghazi and, in recent days, in its stronghold in the eastern city of Darna.

With frequent attacks on public figures and security officials, much of the lawlessness is blamed on the groups. But the government also relies on many of them to provide security in the absence of a functioning police force.