that rebel fighters could advance. cnn's reza sayah expinlas. >> reporter: to many here, he was the hero of that fight. a 49-year-old oil company erworker, husband, father of tw. the best way to help the opposition, hecr decided, was t sacrifice his life. this is where he gave his life. it's the old military barracks onre in benghazi, pretty much demolished today. but on february 19th, rebel fighters had surrounded it, and they were facing heavy firepower. they were trng to get inside these militar barracks. they couldn't. they needed something to shift their momentum. what he did was pack his car full of plastic car fuel containers in cooking gas sill d cylinders and he parked his car where the suv is and prayed and read the koran for about 30 minutes, and then he sped towards the main gate, where he blew himself and his car up. >> nato will take over command