Attorney General Pam Bondi introduced Friday that the FBI has arrested a “key participant” behind the 2012 Benghazi terror assault in Benghazi, Libya.
The man, Zubayar Al-Bakoush, is being charged with the murders of Ambassador Chris Stevens and State Department worker Sean Smith, in addition to the tried homicide of State Department Special Agent Scott Wicklund, officers stated, in addition to conspiracy and arson costs.
“We have never forgotten those heroes, and we have never stopped seeking justice for that crime against our nation,” Bondi stated at a press convention in regards to the arrest.
Two Navy SEALs, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, have been additionally killed within the assault almost 14 years in the past.
Bondi credited the FBI, State Department and CIA for working collectively to arrest Bakoush, declining to offer particulars past that he was arrested abroad. A airplane that departed Misrata, Libya, on Thursday landed on the Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia at 3 a.m. Friday, in accordance with flight knowledge reviewed by NCS.
According to court docket paperwork, Bakoush was a member of Ansar al-Sharia, the Islamic militant group that claimed credit score for the lethal assault.
Prosecutors say he entered the Benghazi diplomatic mission about quarter-hour after the assault started and tried to interrupt into workers members’ vehicles.
He was charged eleven years in the past, however the case remained sealed till his arrest Friday, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated, including that she had spoken to the members of the family of these killed within the assault. Her workplace can be main the prosecution.
“Let me be very clear, there are more of them out there,” Pirro stated 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 one other milestone in one of the vital difficult FBI investigations lately, partly due to instability and factional warfare in Libya because the US helped oust the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
The US relied on the assistance of native militants allied with the US-recognized authorities to assist seize Ahmed abu-Khattalah, one of many leaders within the assault, in 2014. He is now serving a 28-year sentence for his function.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who labored as a nationwide safety lawyer within the Justice Department on the time, was a part of the staff that labored on the investigation.
The US captured a second suspect within the assault, Mustafa al-Imam, in 2017.
He was convicted of two costs associated to the assault and was sentenced to greater than 19 years in prison.
Benghazi was adopted with a yearslong political firestorm and several other investigations over who, or what, was accountable for the assault and the way the administration dealt with its wake.
Republicans have constantly criticized the Obama administration and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over alleged safety failures on the facility and their response to the assault.