WASHINGTON DC – FEBRUARY 6: U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi (C), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel (L), and Washington, DC U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro hold a press conference at the Department of Justice on February 6, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bondi announced that the FBI has captured and extradited Zubair Albakush, a suspect in the 2012 attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that the United States has arrested a person suspected of playing a key role in the 2012 attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Bondi said Zubayar al-Bakush has been extradited to the United States and will face murder, arson and terrorism-related charges.
Four U.S. military personnel were killed in the September 11, 2012, incident, which was initially thought to be a spontaneous response to protests but was later determined to be a deliberate attack by extremists, some of whom were linked to al-Qaeda-affiliated groups.
Late on September 11, 2012, a fire was set inside the U.S. Consulate General in Benghazi, engulfing the vehicle and its surroundings in flames. Gunmen protesting a film they say insults Islam stormed the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, setting the building on fire and killing one American, witnesses and officials said.
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Al Bakush is the third person to face criminal charges stemming from the attack. Two others, Ahmed Abu Qatara and Mustafa al-Imam, are serving long prison terms, and another suspect, Ali Awni al-Khalji, was killed in a 2015 Iraqi airstrike.
Baksh faces eight charges, including murder, attempted murder, arson and conspiracy to support terrorism, said Jeanine Pirro, the top U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
The attack became a symbol of the turmoil in Benghazi and Libya as a whole, highlighting instability and the presence of terrorism in the region. This led to a series of investigations in the United States and brought Congressional Republicans into conflict with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before she ran for president in 2016 as a Democrat.
