A militant accused of playing a key role in the 2012 Benghazi attacks has been captured by special operations forces and will be brought to the U.S. to “face justice,” President Trump announced Monday.
“Yesterday, on my orders, United States forces captured Mustafa al-Imam in Libya,” Trump said in a statement. “Because of this successful operation, al-Imam will face justice in the United States for his alleged role in the September 11, 2012 attacks in Benghazi.”
U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, U.S. foreign service officer Sean Smith, and CIA contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed in the assault on the U.S. diplomatic compound.
“To the families of these fallen heroes: I want you to know that your loved ones are not forgotten, and they will never be forgotten,” Trump said. “Our memory is deep and our reach is long, and we will not rest in our efforts to find and bring the perpetrators of the heinous attacks in Benghazi to justice.”
Trump thanked members of law enforcement, prosecutors, the intelligence community, and military personnel “for their extraordinary efforts in gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and tracking down fugitives associated with the attack, capturing them, and delivering them to the United States for prosecution.”
Ahmed Abu Khattala is currently on trial in U.S. District Court in Washington as one of the alleged masterminds behind the Benghazi attacks. He was captured in a secret U.S. military raid in Benghazi in 2014. Khattala faces 18 counts, including murder of an internationally protected person, murder of a U.S. officer, and providing material support to terrorists resulting in death.
The fallout from the Benghazi attacks engulfed the Obama administration as former President Barack Obama’s second term began, specifically the actions by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the lead-up to the assault. Republicans focused on the shifting timelines and explanations offered by the Obama administration, and on whether the outpost had been given sufficient protection by the State Department. In 2014, House Republicans created a special committee to investigate what happened, issuing a final report during the 2016 campaign that said the U.S. government failed to protect the diplomats in Benghazi.
