(CNN) -- The commander of Libya's rebel army was killed in Benghazi along with two senior officers on Thursday, rebel leaders announced just hours after claiming big successes on the battlefield.

The death of Gen. Abdul Fattah Younis came after the rebels' Transitional National Council sought Younis for questioning about military matters and alleged ongoing ties to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, according to what Younis' supporters told journalist James Hider of the Times of London.

Supporters also shot at a Benghazi hotel and smashed its windows. Journalists had been gathered at the hotel for a press conference held by the rebel's civilian leader who announced Younis was summoned back to Benghazi and was killed along with his two aides under unclear circumstances, Hider told CNN.

CNN's Ivan Watson analyzes the situationin Libya

Hider described the events surrounding Younis' death as "extremely murky," but he said the rebel army appeared to be on the brink of a rift.

Younis had served as interior minister in Gadhafi's government until February, when he defected to the Benghazi-based rebel movement. He was killed along with a colonel and a lieutenant colonel, the rebels' Transitional National Council said in a statement aired on their television network late Thursday.

No further details were immediately released.

Younis, a onetime general in Gadhafi's army, told CNN in February that he switched sides after Gadhafi told him he planned to have Benghazi bombed -- a move Younis said would have killed thousands.

Rebel forces have been battling to oust Gadhafi since then, aided by a NATO bombing campaign that has targeted government