UPDATE 2 - US announces arrest of suspect linked to 2012 Benghazi attack

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By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday that a suspect connected to the 2012 attack on the US embassy in Benghazi, Libya has been arrested and will face prosecution in the US.

"Today, I'm proud to announce that the FBI has arrested one of the key participants behind the Benghazi attack," Bondi said at a news conference joined by FBI Director Kash Patel.

Bondi said Zubayr al-Bakoush will face American justice on American soil.

"We will prosecute this alleged terrorist to the fullest extent of the law. He'll face charges related to murder, terrorism, arson, among others," she said.

Libyan national Ahmed Abu Khatallah masterminded the Sept. 11 attack that killed US Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, including Sean Smith, a foreign service officer.

Jeanine Pirro, the top prosecutor in DC, said al-Bakoush faces an eight-count indictment that includes murder, attempted murder, arson and conspiracy to support terrorists.

Patel said the suspect was "picked up overseas."

Asked if there was foreign involvement in the capture of the suspect, Patel said no agency alone -- execute an apprehension, capture and a foreign transfer of custody.

"We did it throughout the interagency here, and of course, we're working with partners overseas," he added.

Al-Bakoush landed in the state of Virginia on Friday morning and is in custody. He will face charges later Friday, according to Patel.

He is expected to make his initial appearance Friday before Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya in DC.

Al-Bakoush is the third individual to be criminally charged in connection with the attack; two others, Ahmed Abu Khatallah and Mustafa al-Imam, are serving lengthy prison sentences, while a fourth suspect, Ali Awni al-Harzi, was killed in an airstrike in Iraq in 2015.