Trial of Benghazi attack suspect begins

Washington:  The alleged mastermind of the 2012 attacks on a US outpost in Benghazi, Libya, despises America and when his hatred “boiled over,” he organised the strike that killed four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens, a government prosecutor told the jury yesterday.
Opening statements began in the case against Ahmed Abu Khattala, whom prosecutors describe as the ringleader of the attacks at a diplomatic compound — an attack that became a political flashpoint given its timing weeks before President Barack Obama’s re-election.
It’s one of the most significant terrorism prosecutions in recent years in a US civilian court at a time when the Trump administration has said terror suspects are better sent to the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
An 18-count indictment against Abu Khattala arises from a burst of violence that began the night of September 11, 2012, at a State Department compound in Libya’s Benghazi.  a rampage prosecutors say was aimed at killing American personnel and plundering maps, documents and other property from the post. Abu Khattala has pleaded not guilty to his charges, including murder of an internationally protected person, providing material support to terrorists and destroying US property.