THIRD BENGHAZI COCONSPIRATOR IN U.S. CUSTODY AS DOJ UNSEALS TERRORISM AND MURDER INDICTMENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than thirteen years after the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, federal authorities have unsealed an eight-count indictment against Zubayar Al‑Bakoush, an alleged armed participant in the assault that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Al-Bakoush is now in U.S. federal custody and is expected to make his initial court appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before Moxila A. Upadhyaya. The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed Friday, charges Al-Bakoush with multiple terrorism-related offenses and murder counts tied directly to the coordinated attacks on the U.S. Special Mission and nearby CIA Annex in Benghazi.

According to court documents, Al-Bakoush is alleged to have been a member of Ansar al‑Sharia, an Islamist extremist militia operating in eastern Libya at the time, whose stated objective was the imposition of Sharia law through armed action. U.S. officials have long identified Ansar al-Sharia as a central organizing force behind the Benghazi assault.

The Charges

Federal prosecutors accuse Al-Bakoush of playing a direct role in facilitating and participating in the attack, charging him with:

• Conspiracy to provide material support and resources to terrorists resulting in death
• Providing material support and resources to terrorists resulting in death
• Murder of an internationally protected person
• Two counts of murder of a U.S. national outside the United States
• Attempted murder of a U.S. national outside the United States
• Arson and malicious destruction of property placing lives in jeopardy within U.S. special maritime and territorial jurisdiction
• Attempted destruction of property and endangerment of life under the same jurisdiction

If convicted on all counts, Al-Bakoush faces the possibility of life imprisonment.

Reconstructing the Night of the Attack

The indictment lays out a detailed timeline of Al-Bakoush’s alleged movements and actions on the night of September 11, 2012.

Shortly before 9:45 p.m. local time, a force of more than twenty heavily armed militants gathered outside the main gate of the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi. The attackers were armed with AK-type assault rifles, grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, and incendiary devices. The group forcibly breached the compound, spreading across the grounds and setting multiple structures ablaze.

Unable to immediately access the secure area of Villa C—the ambassador’s residence—the attackers ignited fires that produced dense smoke. Ambassador Stevens and Information Management Officer Sean Smith died from smoke inhalation. Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent Scott Wickland, who attempted to evacuate the men, was injured while coming under sustained small-arms fire.

Prosecutors allege that Al-Bakoush entered the Mission compound around 10:00 p.m., conducted surveillance of sensitive areas including the Tactical Operations Center, and attempted to access vehicles belonging to U.S. personnel before retreating with other attackers.

The assault resumed around 11:15 p.m. when militants regrouped at the southern gate and launched a second coordinated attack using automatic weapons and explosives. After re-entering the compound, the attackers looted offices, seizing documents, maps, and electronic equipment containing sensitive information—material that allegedly assisted in the subsequent attack on the CIA Annex.

The CIA Annex and the Mortar Attack

In the early hours of September 12, the violence shifted decisively to the nearby CIA Annex. The indictment describes an escalating assault involving small arms fire followed by a precision mortar attack.

During the defense of the Annex, former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed. Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent David Ubben and CIA security officer Mark Tiegen were critically wounded but survived.

The mortar strike—widely regarded as the most tactically sophisticated element of the attack—remains a focal point of ongoing intelligence and counterterrorism analysis.

A Case Still Closing, Years Later

Al-Bakoush is the third Benghazi attacker to face prosecution in U.S. courts. Previous convictions include Ahmed Abu Khatallah, sentenced to 28 years in prison after a resentencing in 2024, and Mustafa al‑Imam, sentenced to nearly 20 years in 2020.

Federal officials emphasize that the length of time between the attack and the present arrest does not diminish the Department of Justice’s jurisdiction or intent. Terrorism cases involving U.S. nationals abroad are not constrained by typical temporal or geographic limits, particularly when defendants are captured years later through intelligence-driven operations.

Investigation and Prosecution

The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation New York Field Office, with support from U.S. intelligence and defense agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Department of State. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division are handling the case.

Why This Still Matters

The Benghazi attack remains one of the most consequential and scrutinized terrorist incidents involving U.S. diplomatic personnel in the post-9/11 era. Beyond the loss of life, it exposed vulnerabilities in diplomatic security, intelligence coordination, and emergency response in unstable regions.

The indictment of Al-Bakoush underscores a broader federal posture: terrorism cases involving American deaths do not expire, even when arrests take more than a decade. Accountability, in these cases, is not measured by speed—but by persistence.

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