Federal authorities announced Friday that the FBI has captured and extradited Zubayr al Bakoush, one of the key participants behind the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, bringing him to American soil to face long-pending criminal charges.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said al Bakoush arrived at Joint Base Andrews around 3 a.m. and is now in U.S. custody, marking a major development more than 14 years after the deadly assault that killed four U.S. citizens.
“This defendant will now face American justice on American soil,” Bondi said at a press conference alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and senior officials. “If you commit a crime against the American people anywhere in this world, President Trump’s Justice Department will find you. You can run, but you cannot hide.”
Al Bakoush is accused of participating in the coordinated terrorist attack on the U.S. compound and nearby CIA annex starting the night of Sept. 11, 2012, which left Ambassador Chris Stevens, State Department information officer Sean Smith, and CIA security contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty dead.
According to officials, al Bakoush was captured overseas and transferred to U.S. custody following a joint operation involving the FBI and multiple intelligence and diplomatic partners. Authorities declined to provide details on the location or timing of the arrest, citing the integrity of the prosecution.
Patel credited FBI agents and interagency partners for sustaining the yearslong effort to track down the suspect.
“The FBI never forgot Benghazi,” Patel said. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we were given the resources to go to the four corners of the earth and bring this terrorist to justice.”
The case will be prosecuted by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney overseeing the matter, who said an eight-count indictment against al Bakoush has now been unsealed. Pirro said the defendant was first charged by sealed complaint in 2015, with prosecutors deliberately keeping the case under wraps as investigators worked to locate and apprehend him.
Al Bakoush is charged with the murder of a U.S. ambassador, the murder of a federal employee, the attempted murder of a federal agent, terrorism offenses, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists resulting in death, and arson related to the destruction of the U.S. Special Mission compound.
“For 13 hours, Americans waited for help that never came,” Pirro said, referencing the night of the attack. “Today, American justice has arrived.”
Pirro said she notified family members of the victims after the suspect was taken into custody, calling the arrest an emotional moment for relatives who had long feared accountability would never come.
Officials also read a statement from CIA Director John Ratcliffe praising the arrest and honoring Woods and Doherty for their actions during the attack.
The Benghazi assault became one of the most politically and emotionally charged national security episodes of former President Barack Obama’s time in office and remained unresolved for years as several suspects evaded capture.
Bondi and Patel both emphasized that the arrest does not close the book on the case.
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“There are more of them out there,” Pirro said. “Time will not stop us.”
Al Bakoush is expected to make his initial court appearance in federal court in the coming days.