[10] He established the 106th Brigade as a praetorian guard to protect his father and keep tribal militias under LAAF control,[11] and with this he succeeded in recapturing Benghazi in December 2017.

[17][18] Later that same month, Saddam Haftar allegedly guaranteed the safety of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Bashir Saleh to register themselves as president candidates in Sabha.

Ten days later, the Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade, led by Saddam and Khalid, stormed the courthouse in Sabha to prevent judges from hearing Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's appeal to participate in the presidential election.

[19] In January 2023, Khalifa Haftar pledged to withdraw from the Libyan presidential election on the condition that his sons Saddam and Belqasim are allowed to run.

[4] In August 2024, Spain issued an arrest warrant for Saddam Haftar while he was returning to Libya from Italy, alleging that he was involved in smuggling a shipment of weapons, destined for the United Arab Emirates, that was intercepted by Spanish police several months earlier.