WASHINGTON: US commandos have captured the suspected ringleader of the deadly 2012 attack on an American compound in Benghazi, in a raid hailed by the White House as a triumph for “justice.”
Special forces, working with FBI agents, carried out Sunday’s operation and the suspect, Ahmed Abu Khatallah, was en route to the United States, where he will face criminal charges, officials said yesterday.
“The United States has an unwavering commitment to bring to justice those responsible for harming Americans,” President Barack Obama said.
“Since the deadly attacks on our facilities in Benghazi, I have made it a priority to find and bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of four brave Americans.”
There were no civilian casualties in the action and the suspect was in US custody at a “secure location outside of Libya,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said.
All US troops and personnel taking part in the operation have “safely departed Libya,” he added.
The hours-long assault on US facilities in Benghazi in 2012, which also targeted a CIA outpost, killed the US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans.
The attack shocked Washington and became a highly-charged political issue, raising questions about security at US missions. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton faced hostile questioning before lawmakers over the issue.
US federal prosecutors have charged Khatallah with murder, carrying a weapon and offering material support to “terrorism,” according to an indictment unsealed yesterday.
The charges reflect accounts from Libyan officials and witnesses who have singled out Khatallah as allegedly taking part in the assault that day.
“We have made it clear, since that cowardly attack on our facilities, that we would go at any length to find, apprehend, bring to judgment, those who perpetrated it,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
“The capture of Ahmed Abu Khatallah is not the end of that effort but it marks an important milestone.”
The State Department has identified Khatallah as a senior leader of Ansar Al Sharia, a Libyan Islamist group it brands a “terrorist” organisation responsible for a spate of attacks and assassinations.
AFP
