United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi has announced that a “key participant” in the 2012 attack on the US embassy in Benghazi, Libya, has been arrested.
The storming of the US diplomatic compound and nearby CIA annex left four US citizens dead, including US Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
Bondi announced the arrest at a news conference with FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in Washington, whose office will be handling the case.
Bondi said that Zubayr al-Bakoush had been extradited to the US and will face murder, arson and “terrorism”-related charges
Zubayar Al-Bakoush, identified by officials as a member of an extremist militia in Libya, had been wanted by the United States for more than a decade. He is accused in a newly unsealed indictment of joining an armed mob that crashed the gates of the diplomatic mission and set fire to buildings in a 13-hour-long assault.
“We have never forgotten those heroes and we have never stopped seeking justice for that crime against our nation. We will prosecute this alleged terrorist to the fullest extent of the law.
“Let this case serve as a reminder: If you commit a crime against the American people anywhere in this world, President [Donald] Trump’s Justice Department will find you.”
Pam Bondi
Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, told reporters that al-Bakoush had initially been charged in 2015, but the indictment had remained sealed.
Pirro said that al-Bakoush was charged with both the murder of Stevens and another State Department employee, Sean Smith, as well as the attempted murder of a State Department special agent.
Two other US government personnel, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, were also killed in the incident. Al-Bakoush was not charged with their killing.
Speaking to reporters, FBI Director Kash Patel said that his agency had conducted a “foreign transfer of custody,” but gave few details on how, when or where al-Bakoush had been arrested.
He said only the arrest took place “overseas.” Patel said that he would not provide further information in order to “maintain not just the integrity of this investigation, but the possibility, and the promise of bringing more individuals to justice.”
On the night of September 11, 2012, US officials have said, at least 20 militants armed with AK-47s and grenade launchers breached the gate of the consulate compound and set buildings on fire.
The fire led to the deaths of Stevens, the Ambassador, and State Department employee Sean Smith. Other State Department personnel escaped to a nearby U.S. facility known as the annex. A large group assembled for an attack on the annex. That attack, including a precision mortar barrage, resulted in the deaths of security officers Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.
First Arrest By Trump Administration
The arrest is the first by President Donald Trump’s administration arising from the attack, but it is not the first time that the Justice Department as an institution has attempted to hold to account the militants believed responsible for the killings of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
A suspected mastermind, Ahmed Abu Khattala, was captured by US special forces in 2014 and was convicted and imprisoned after a jury trial.
He is currently serving a 28-year sentence after being taken into custody in 2014. US prosecutors said Abu Khatallah led an armed group in Libya and ordered the attack.
Abu Khatallah was cleared of murder charges, but convicted of four other “terrorism” related charges in the case.
Libyan national, Mustafa al-Imam, was also convicted in 2020 for his role in the attack, but was not directly charged with the killings.
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