Leader of deadly Benghazi raid sentenced to 22 years in prison on terrorism charge

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the organizer of the deadly 2012 raid on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, was sentenced on Wednesday to 22 years in prison on terrorism and other charges, the Justice Department said.

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three U.S. government personnel, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, were killed in the attack on the U.S. compound on Sept. 11, 2012.

The 46-year-old Libyan national was convicted in November by a jury in Washington, D.C., on federal terrorism charges and other offenses stemming from the terrorist attack.

The jury, however, convicted Khatallah on only four of the 18 counts he faced. He was acquitted on murder and other charges.

Khatallah was captured by U.S. Special Operations Forces in a midnight raid on his home south of Benghazi in 2014 and returned by ship to the U.S.

He was convicted for his "integral role in a calculated, cold-blooded attack" on the U.S. compound, according to William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office.

The leader of the extremist militia called Ubaydah bin Jarrah had sought for months to incite violence against the U.S. presence in Libya, according to the government.

On the night of Sept. 11, 2012, Khatallah directed his group to carry out the violent attack, striking first at the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi. A group of men, armed with AK-47 rifles, grenades, and other weapons, swept into the Mission compound, setting fires and breaking into buildings, the government said.