A key participant in the 2012 attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi that killed four Americans has been transferred to the United States to face charges, Justice Department officials said Friday, according to NBC News.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Zubayr al-Bakoush landed at Joint Base Andrews at 3:00 a.m. on Friday and will be tried in federal court in the District of Columbia. Officials did not say how long he had been in custody or where he was apprehended.
"Al-Bakoush will now face American justice on American soil," Bondi said.
According to US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, the indictment charges al-Bakoush with crimes that include the murders of US Ambassador Chris Stevens and State Department employee Sean Smith, the attempted murder of State Department Special Agent Scott Wicklund, and arson.
The head of the Islamist militia who directed the attack, Ahmed Abu Khattala, was convicted by a jury in November of 2017 of four counts related to the attack.
In June of 2018, Khattala was sentenced by a federal judge to 22 years in prison.
In 2020, another participant in the attack, Mustafa al-Imam, was sentenced to a total of 236 months behind bars
The 2012 attack on the US compound quickly became a divisive political issue. Republicans accused President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of failing to protect the Americans and questioned the administration’s account of its response during the 13-hour siege.
House Republicans launched six investigations into the administration’s handling of the attack and questioned Clinton for hours. Democrats accused Republicans of using the inquiry to damage Clinton’s presidential prospects.
A GOP-led panel later issued an 800-page report that faulted the Obama administration for not responding faster, although it did not find wrongdoing by Clinton.
The criminal case against al-Bakoush was first brought in 2015 during the Obama administration and remained sealed for more than a decade. It was announced Friday by Bondi, Pirro and FBI Director Kash Patel, who praised the work of law enforcement.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)