Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday that Zubaar al-Bakoush, the main suspect in the deadly 2012 attack on a U.S. military base in Benghazi, Libya, had been arrested. Bundy added that Bakush landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at 3 a.m. local time. “We never stop seeking justice for crimes against our country,” she said.
5 things you need to know about Zubaar al-Bakoush
Killed 4 Americans
Zubayar Bakush was part of the 2012 attack that killed four Americans in Benghazi. The attack on the night of September 11 included at least 20 militants armed with AK-47s and grenade launchers who broke through the gates of the consulate compound and set fire to the building.
Ambassador Chris Stevens and State Department employee Sean Smith
The fire killed Stevens and Smith. Other State Department personnel fled to a nearby U.S. facility known as the Annex.
Zubayar Bakush faces serious charges
Attorney Jeanne Pirro revealed that an eight-count indictment charged Al Bakush with crimes including the murders of Stevens and Smith.
First photo of Zubayar Bakush surfaces
A photo shows Zubayar Bakush being carried on a stretcher at Joint Base Andrews on Friday.
Contact with planners
A Libyan militant suspected of being the mastermind of the attack, Ahmed Abu Khatala, was captured by U.S. special forces in 2014 and taken to Washington to face prosecution. He was convicted and is serving time in prison.
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton slam
The 2012 Benghazi attack quickly became a deeply divisive political issue. Republicans have repeatedly criticized President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for lapses in facility security, the military’s response to the violence and the administration’s changing narrative about who was responsible and why.
A final report released by a Republican-led congressional panel concluded that the Obama administration was responsible for security shortcomings at the Libyan outpost and a slow response to the attacks.
However, the same report found no wrongdoing by Clinton.
Clinton dismissed the report as an echo of previous investigations with no new findings and said “it’s time to move on.”
Other Democrats denounced the Republican report as a “conspiracy theory on steroids.”
(With inputs from The Associated Press)
