Ahmed Abu Khattala
| Ahmed Abu Khattala | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Ahmed Abu Khattala ( أحمد أبو ختالة) 1971 (age 45–46) |
| Nationality | Libyan |
| Occupation | construction contractor |
| Known for | Suspected of participating in the 2012 Benghazi attack |
| Criminal charge | 18 U.S. federal charges, including murder and several other capital crimes |
Ahmed Abu Khattala (born c. 1971) is an incarcerated Libyan, who commanded a small militia during the 2011 uprising against Qaddafi. He is suspected of participating in the 2012 Benghazi attack on the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi, in which Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
In a December 2013 article about the attack, the New York Times described him as a central figure in the attack according to Libyan witnesses, although he had no known affiliations with terrorist groups.
Abu Khattala denies killing the Americans or being part of the attack.
Abu Khattala grew up in el-Leithi, a Benghazi neighborhood named for the River of Oblivion. He spent most of his adult life in Abu Salim prison in Tripoli, jailed by the Qaddafi government for his Islamic extremism.
During the 2011 uprising against Qaddafi in Libya, he formed his own militia of "perhaps two dozen fighters", naming it Obeida Ibn Al Jarra for an early Islamic general.
In June, he marched in a parade which also included February 17 Brigade, Libya Shield, the Supreme Security Committee, and Ansar al-Shariah, a "group of as many as 200 militants" who had broken away from the other militias in 2012 in protest of those militia's support for parliamentary elections in Libya.
He opposes American involvement in Libya and in interviews with the New York Times stated that “the enmity between the American government and the peoples of the world is an old case.” In regards to the role of the air campaign of NATO that overthrew Colonel Qaddafi, he believes that if NATO had not intervened, “God would have helped us.” He also claimed that, “We know the United States was working with both sides” and considering “splitting up" Libya.
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