Federal authorities have taken into custody a suspect accused of taking part in the 2012 terrorist assault on a U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya, an attack that left four Americans dead, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday.

“Today, I’m proud to announce that the FBI has arrested one of the key participants behind the Benghazi attack,” Bondi said. “You can run, but you cannot hide.”

Bondi identified the suspect as Zubayar al-Bakoush and said he was transported to the United States overnight. The announcement was made alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington.

The September 11, 2012 attack targeted a U.S. diplomatic compound and a nearby CIA facility. U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was killed, along with Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty, when militants affiliated with Ansar al-Sharia carried out coordinated assaults. Pirro said family members of the victims were notified of al-Bakoush’s arrest before it was publicly disclosed.

After the arrest was revealed, federal prosecutors unsealed a 13-page indictment in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The charges against al-Bakoush include seven counts, among them murder, attempted murder, providing material support to terrorists, and arson. Authorities said he is scheduled to make his initial court appearance later Friday.

According to the indictment, al-Bakoush lived in Benghazi at the time of the attack and was affiliated with Ansar al-Sharia. Prosecutors allege he was among the armed militants who assaulted the U.S. mission where Ambassador Stevens and his security team were stationed.

Court documents state that roughly 20 attackers forced their way through the compound’s main gate and set fires that ultimately killed Stevens and Smith. Prosecutors said al-Bakoush entered the compound after the fires had begun and “conducted surveillance activity” while attempting to access vehicles inside the secured area.

Later that night, a mortar strike hit a CIA annex located about a mile from the diplomatic mission, killing Woods and Doherty, both of whom were working as CIA contractors.

Bondi said the FBI worked in coordination with the State Department and the CIA to apprehend al-Bakoush. Officials offered limited details about the operation, saying only that he was taken into custody “overseas.” Pirro emphasized that the investigation remains active and that others responsible for the 2012 killings are still being pursued.

“Let me be very clear — there are more of them out there,” Pirro said. “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.”

Al-Bakoush is the latest in a small number of suspects to face prosecution in the United States over the Benghazi attack. In 2014, U.S. Special Forces captured Ahmed Abu Khatallah, a Libyan national described as a leader of the assault. He was acquitted of murder charges in 2017 but convicted on other counts and initially sentenced to 22 years in prison. In 2024, a federal judge increased that sentence to 28 years, ruling the original punishment was insufficient.

Another Libyan suspect, Mustafa al-Imam, was captured in a U.S. operation in 2017 and transferred to the United States to stand trial. He was convicted in 2019 and received a 19-year prison sentence.

{Matzav.com}