By Ryan Morgan

WASHINGTON—The U.S. government has apprehended a key suspect in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on U.S. diplomatic outposts in Benghazi, Libya, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Feb. 6.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Bondi identified the arrested suspect as Zubayar ⁠al-Bakoush. Bondi said the FBI apprehended Bakoush, but did not specify where he was found.

“The individual was apprehended and transferred over the night and into custody early this morning at an airfield. And so that’s about all you can say on that matter,” FBI Director Kash Patel added.

Bondi said Bakoush landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland at around 3 a.m. local time on Friday.

Four Americans were killed in the 2012 Benghazi attack, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, State Department employee Sean Smith, and CIA contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

The attack targeted a diplomatic compound that also served as Stevens’s residence, as well as a nearby CIA annex.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Bakoush faces an eight-count criminal indictment, including charges for the murders of Stevens and Smith, and the attempted murder of State Department Special Agent Scott Wicklund. He is also charged with conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism and an arson-related offense.

“Let this case serve as a reminder: if you commit a crime against the American people, anywhere in this world, President Trump’s Justice Department will find you,” Bondi said. “It might not happen overnight, but it will happen.”

Pirro said she contacted the families of the four Americans killed in the attack.

“Time will not stop us from going after these predators, no matter how long it takes, in order to fulfill our obligation to those families who suffered horrific pain at the hands of these violent terrorists,” Pirro said.

The U.S. government has described Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi as one of the groups primarily responsible for the 2012 attack. The U.S. State Department designated Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi as a foreign terrorist organization in 2014.

Bakoush is the third person to face criminal prosecution in connection with the 2012 Benghazi attack.

The U.S. government previously prosecuted Ahmed Abu Khatallah and ‌Mustafa al-Imam in connection with the attack.

In 2018, Khatallah was sentenced to 22 years in prison in connection with the attack. The U.S. government has described Khattalah as a senior leader of Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi.

Imam was sentenced in 2020 to about 20 years in prison.

U.S. forces killed another person of interest in the attack, Ali Awni al-Harzi, in a June 2015 airstrike in Mosul, Iraq. At the time, the Pentagon described Harzi as a known ISIS operative.

Reuters contributed to this report.