First on CNN: US Commandos Were Poised for Raid to Capture Benghazi Suspect Security Clearance Blogs
Better luck next time. Patience pays well.
05:40 PM ET
First on CNN: US commandos were poised for raid to capture Benghazi suspect
By Barbara Starr
When U.S. commandos grabbed a former al Qaeda operative in Tripoli this month, American forces were just hours away from potentially launching a more dangerous covert raid to capture a militia figure facing charges in the deadly Benghazi terror attack, U.S. officials tell CNN.
U.S. special operations forces were ready, if ordered, to enter Benghazi and capture Ahmed Abu Khattalah, a leading figure in the Ansar Al-Sharia militia. But the mission never materialized.
The United States believes Ansar Al-Sharia was behind the September 2012 armed assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
President Barack Obama has openly said it is a “priority” to bring the Benghazi suspects “to justice.” The FBI continues to investigate the attack and Khattalah is under federal indictment, CNN’s Evan Perez has reported.
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