US arrests suspect in 2012 Benghazi consulate attack, Bondi says

By Andrew Goudsward, Jana Winter and Katharine Jackson

The U.S. has arrested a person suspected of playing a central role in the 2012 attack on its consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday.

Bondi said Zubayar al-Bakoush has been extradited to the United States and will face murder, arson and terrorism-related charges.

Four U.S. personnel were killed in the September 11, 2012, incident, which was initially thought to be a spontaneous reaction to protests but was later identified as a deliberate attack carried out by extremists, some of whom were linked to groups affiliated with al Qaeda.

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Al-Bakoush is the third person to face criminal charges stemming from the attack. Two others, Ahmed Abu Khatallah and Mustafa al-Imam, are serving lengthy prison terms, while another suspect, Ali Awni al-Harzi, was killed in an airstrike in Iraq in 2015.

Bakoush faces an eight-count indictment that includes charges of murder, attempted murder, arson and conspiracy to support terrorists, said Jeanine Pirro, the top U.S. prosecutor in the District of Columbia.

The attack became a symbol of the chaos in Benghazi and Libya as a whole, highlighting the instability and the presence of terrorism in the region. It led to a series of investigations in the United States, in which congressional Republicans clashed with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ahead of her 2016 presidential run as a Democrat.