FBI arrests ‘key participant’ behind Benghazi attack, Bondi says
By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN
(CNN) — Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that the FBI has arrested a “key participant” behind the 2012 Benghazi terror attack in Benghazi, Libya.
The man, Zubayar Al-Bakoush, is being charged with the murders of Ambassador Chris Stevens and State Department employee Sean Smith, as well as the attempted murder of State Department Special Agent Scott Wicklund, officials said, as well as conspiracy and arson charges.
“We have never forgotten those heroes, and we have never stopped seeking justice for that crime against our nation,” Bondi said at a press conference about the arrest.
Two Navy SEALs, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, were also killed in the attack nearly 14 years ago.
Bondi credited the FBI, State Department and CIA for working together to arrest Bakoush, declining to give details beyond that he was arrested overseas. A plane that departed Misrata, Libya, on Thursday landed at the Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia at 3 a.m. Friday, according to flight data reviewed by CNN.
According to court documents, Bakoush was a member of Ansar al-Sharia, the Islamic militant group that claimed credit for the deadly attack.
Prosecutors say he entered the Benghazi diplomatic mission about 15 minutes after the attack began and tried to break into staff members’ cars.
He was charged eleven years ago, but the case remained sealed until his arrest Friday, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said, adding that she had spoken to the family members of those killed in the attack. Her office will be leading the prosecution.
“Let me be very clear, there are more of them out there,” Pirro said Friday. “Time will not stop us from going after these predators, no matter how long it takes in order to fulfill our obligation to those families who suffered horrific pain at the hands of these violent terrorists.”
Bakoush’s arrest marks another milestone in one of the most challenging FBI investigations in recent years, in part because of instability and factional warfare in Libya since the US helped oust the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
The US relied on the help of local militants allied with the US-recognized government to help capture Ahmed abu-Khattalah, one of the leaders in the attack, in 2014. He is now serving a 28-year sentence for his role.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who worked as a national security lawyer in the Justice Department at the time, was part of the team that worked on the investigation.
The US captured a second suspect in the attack, Mustafa al-Imam, in 2017.
He was convicted of two charges related to the attack and was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison.
Benghazi was followed with a yearslong political firestorm and several investigations over who, or what, was responsible for the attack and how the administration handled its wake.
Republicans have consistently criticized the Obama administration and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over alleged security failures at the facility and their response to the attack.
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