Multiple media reports are now confirming the blind sheik has died in prison. The release of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman was the motive for the protests in 2012 Cairo Egypt, leading to the U.S. embassy being overrun earlier on the same day when the Benghazi Libya attack took place.

(Via NBC) Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted in connection with inspiring terror plots in New York City, has died in a prison hospital in South Carolina, senior law enforcement officials said Saturday.

Abdel-Rahman was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, and later plotted to blow up the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels in addition to other city landmarks. He was one of six suspects convicted in the attack that killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others.

The blind Egyptian cleric was the spiritual leader of Al-Gama Al-Islamiyya. The Islamic group was believed to have been behind other terror attacks such as the 1997 massacre that killed 62 people in Luxor, Egypt.

Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi voiced support for Abdel-Rahman’s release in 2012. (read more)