01x03 - Terror In Benghazi

[bunniefuu]

- We had these reports
coming in

that the US embassy in Libya
had been attacked.

- The attackers were
Muslim protesters,

apparently angry
about an Internet film

produced in the United States.

[indistinct shouting]

- There were up
to 60 individuals gathered

outside the embassy.

[indistinct shouting]

They came armed
with AK-47s, g*ns.

They gathered
gasoline canisters

so that they could burn it.

That fire was tremendous.

This was anything

but a protest gone bad.

The news comes across
that the ambassador is missing.

- My name is Chris Stevens,

and I'm the new US ambassador
to Libya.

- We're trying
to figure out exactly

who was behind this attack.

It's like a 10,000-piece
puzzle.

[dramatic music]

But you don't have the pieces.

And you don't even
have a picture

to try and put it together.

- There were about ten
employees inside the building.

- They still haven't
accounted for everyone

and haven't secured
the consulate.

- I don't know
that there can be

any greater motivating factor
than to bring to justice

those individuals
who are responsible.

But our challenge now is trying
to figure out who they are.

[g*nf*re]

♪

- In the FBI, we make
a lot of headlines...

♪

Drug busts,

mob stings,

t*rrorists takedowns.

- Get down! Get down!

- We understand why people
want to tell stories about US.

- Mark it.

- Freeze!
- FBI.

- FBI!
- Action!

- But they don't know
the half of it.

[indistinct radio chatter]

What really goes down,

we save that for each other,

when we're talking
agent to agent.

♪

This is "FBI True."

[tense music]

♪

- Cindy Coppola is a 23-year
veteran of the FBI.

She worked on cases
that included organized crime

and terrorism and took part

in multinational
investigations

into drug trafficking
and money laundering.

Coppola finished her career
with the Los Angeles division,

running two offices,
supervising investigations,

and providing undercover
security for special events.

- September rolls around,
the anniversary of 9/11.

What are you doing?
- September 11th, 2012,

it wasn't lost on anyone,

the significance of that day.
- No, of course.

♪

- The antennas are up.

New York is always a target,

and we wanna make sure,
you know...

- No copycat.

- No copycat attack.
- Yeah.

- Ari Mahairas joined
the FBI in 1996.

He worked
in the Special Operations

and Criminal divisions
in New York,

later joining
the Counterterrorism Division

and the Joint Terrorism
Task Force.

He retired as Special Agent
in Charge of New York's

Counterintelligence
Cyber Division.

- You know, we're thinking
everything is going okay

and wrap up the day.

I'm listening to the news
driving home,

and we have
these reports coming in

that the US embassy in Libya
had been attacked.

- On Tuesday,
dozens of protesters attacked

the US embassy in Egypt
and burned down

the American consulate
in Benghazi, Libya.

- I get home
and turn on the TV immediately,

just trying to absorb
and understand

exactly where we are,
because I know, no doubt,

that CT3 is gonna
open a case on this.

- Of course, because New York
handles that territory.

- So CT3 had
the extraterritorial

responsibility
for criminal activity

that took place against US
interests in North Africa.

So this would fall within
our area of responsibility.

- And it wasn't really
an embassy at the time, right?

- That's how it was being
reported in the news.

But in reality,
what was attacked was

the US temporary
mission facility in Benghazi,

or the special mission.

♪

And so we hear the news,
and there's a report

that Ambassador Chris Stevens
had gone missing.

♪

We're in New York.
This is taking place...

- Yeah, of course.
- 5,000 miles away in Libya.

The news comes across
that the ambassador is missing.

So I get in the car,
and I start making phone calls

to the different supervisors,

the agents
that are on the squad.

We got to the office,

and we began gathering
as much information as we can.

The initial reports
that were coming

from the US government side
was that this was a result

of a protest
stemming from a video.

[indistinct shouting]

- The attackers
were Muslim protesters,

apparently angry
about an Internet film

produced in the United States

that ridicules
the prophet Muhammad.

- And as a result of that video

that was found to be offensive,

there was a spontaneous
protest in Egypt.

[indistinct yelling]

And the initial reports
that was being given

by the government at the time
was that the events in Egypt

sparked what had taken
place in Benghazi, Libya.

[indistinct yelling
and chanting]

- And the other thing is,

what was the ambassador
doing there?

What was his role?

- Asalaam alaikum.

My name is Chris Stevens,

and I'm the new
US ambassador to Libya.

- So there was a lot
going on in Libya.

As we know, it was just
after the fall of Gaddafi.

♪

There were a lot
of militias operating

in the vacuum of authority,

and everybody was vying

to get a piece of the pie,
if you will.

Ambassador Stevens
in Benghazi was there

doing what diplomats do.

He was there
to establish relationships,

meet with the locals,
his counterparts,

and build those relationships

that advance
the mutual interests

of both the United States
and the Libyan government.

- I am excited
to return to Libya

to continue the great work
we've started,

building a solid partnership

between the United States
and Libya to help you,

the Libyan people,
achieve your goals.

- And that night,
he actually had dinner

with some of his local
counterparts.

After the meeting
had concluded,

the ambassador retired
to his residence.

And it was about that time

when the attack
actually started.

- What were you hearing
that you weren't hearing...

like, seeing on the news?

- One of the toughest things

you do in this type
of an investigation

is to gather the intelligence
and make sense of it.

♪

Intelligence work...
well, especially in this case,

is like putting
a puzzle together.

It's like a 10,000-piece
puzzle,

but you don't have the pieces.

And you don't even
have a picture

to try and put it together.

But the initial intelligence
we were receiving,

I think it was fairly
reasonable to conclude

that this was anything
but a protest gone bad.

The reports were, there were


who had gathered
outside the embassy.

But one of the telltale
signs was,

they came armed
with AK-47s and RPGs.

♪

Right, so that doesn't
follow the script...

- Correct.
- Of a protest gone bad.

- Of a "protest," right.

Do you know where the
ambassador is at this point?

- The first indication we had
of any whereabouts

of the ambassador came
in a social media post,

which depicted the ambassador's
lifeless body in a picture.

[indistinct chatter]

And we didn't know exactly
what was happening.

But we began
to sort of flesh that out...

- Right, through
the intel community.

- And what we were
able to determine

was that the ambassador
was found

inside a room of a safe house.

And despite appearing
to be lifeless,

he was taken to
the Benghazi Medical Center,

where attempts
to resuscitate him failed.

- The US ambassador to Libya,
Chris Stevens,

died yesterday
when Muslim protesters stormed

and set fire to
the US consulate in Benghazi.

- So you're at the office,

getting everybody broken
into different teams.

What's our plan of attack?

- As we're strategizing
in the office,

we're still receiving
intelligence.

And we're trying to figure out
exactly what happened.

And so what we did was,

deployed
the investigative team.

They went to Ramstein,

where we spun up
the forward operating base,

where they would
eventually rendezvous

and meet up with the victims...

- Sure.
- Of the attack,

who were just out
of the danger zone,

who had been evacuated.

- And a law enforcement
source said the FBI would

begin the investigation
by interviewing

the 30 American survivors
of the attack,

who are now at a US military
base in Germany.

- The survivors painted
a terrifying picture

of what unfolded that night.

- So at some point
in Benghazi,

there's a group
of militants gathered.

They breach the C1 gate.

They start moving
through the compound unimpeded.

After setting fire
to the guardhouse,

they made their way
to the main house.

Inside the main house,
there was a safe room.

That's where the DS agent was

with Ambassador Stevens
and Sean Smith,

another diplomat who was the
information management officer

for the embassy.

The militants try
to break into the safe room.

Unable to do so,

they gather
gasoline canisters...

And put everything
that they could together

so that they could burn it.

That fire was tremendous.

As the fire burned and raged,

burning everything
in its path,

smoke started getting
into the room

where the ambassador was with
Sean Smith and the DS agent.

The DS agent, believing
he had the ambassador

and Sean behind him,
climbs out of the window,

gasping for air,
barely conscious.

Realizing though,
that he did not have

the ambassador
and Sean with him,

he climbed back in
to find them.

He was unable to do so.

The GRS units
from the CIA annex arrive.

And as they arrived
at the special mission,

they were met with g*nf*re.

[g*nf*re]

But they were able
to push back the attackers

and were able to gain entry
into the special mission...

where they eventually
find Sean Smith.

Unfortunately,
he had already passed.

But they were unable
to find the ambassador.

And realizing that the
situation was deteriorating,

they make their way back
to the CIA annex.

And almost immediately,
the battle starts again.

[g*nf*re]

But this time,
with heavy weapons,

small arms fire,
and even a mortar attack.

Those direct mortar hits
resulted in the death

of Tyrone Woods and
Glen Doherty of the GRS units.

Even not being there,
just hearing the story,

and then with media reports
actually showing you

the burned down buildings...

I don't know that there can be
any greater motivating factor

than to bring to justice
those individuals

who are responsible for
the deaths of the Americans,

Ambassador Chris Stevens,
Sean Smith,

and Tyrone Woods
and Glen Doherty.

- Are you getting
any information

that you might be able to use

to start putting together
a piece of an investigation?

- We're beginning
to collect evidence.

[tense music]

We're trying
to figure out exactly

who was behind this attack.

Some of the information
that was developed early on

were the militias who may have
had a part in this,

Ansar al-Sharia,
Benghazi faction;

Ansar Al-Sharia,
Darnah faction;

and then Ubaydah bin Jarrah,
or UBJ,

was the third faction

because of their strength
in that area

and their intent
on establishing Sharia law.

So these three groups
rise sort of to the top

of your suspect list.

So the information
is coming in fast and furious.

One of the things
that early on we were able

to get our hands on was
the video surveillance system

of the mission.

That proved to be critical.

And what we were able
to gather was not only

a sort of better picture
of what actually happened.

- Sure.
- That was corroborated

by the statements given

of the victims
who had been evacuated.

But we were able
to get some still photos now

of individuals who were there.

- Potential suspects.

- But our challenge now
is trying to figure out

who they are, trying
to identify those subjects.

But once we're able to get
the actual photos, the stills,

we give them off
to the intel analysts,

and they did
a tremendous job actually

in putting names to faces.

- Where are they getting
those names from?

Like, how are they
figuring that?

Is it from older cases,
or is it,

you know, collection
of intel from the past?

- All of the above, right?
- Right.

- You know,
you gotta go to the old

classic detective work.

And so you start
researching older cases.

You start passing
those photos around

to sources for identification.
- Sure.

- And you start getting
these names back.

But you know, despite
the progress we made there,

there was still
many faces without names.

- That you didn't know
who they were?

- No, we had no idea.
But you know though

that typically
what we would do,

we would reach out
to the host nation,

who's best suited
to identify their own citizens,

and say,
hey, who is this person?

- But unfortunately,
you can't...

there's no host...
- There's no host nation.

The ability to collaborate
with them was limited at best.

- Which is a shame.
- And so now we have

to find a creative way.

How do we do that?

Well, one of the things
that they did

was coordinate with state
department DS agents...

- Yeah.
- Who were previously

on the ground
and had established

relationships with locals.

Whether they're going
three months or six months

or a year,
there's people that had been

previously assigned there,
just left,

and hopefully
established a relationship

with some locals
who we can now reach out to.

- Great idea.

- So we had
some positive responses.

And so people who were
willing to help, right,

because not everybody
was a bad guy.

There were some people on that
video that moved around

with a little bit
more air of authority.

They appear to be directing
others on the compound.

- Interesting.
- And at some point,

the FBI did put out
a wanted poster

based on the stills
that were taken.

As the pieces of the puzzle
began to draw

a clearer picture, one image
came to the forefront

of their possible ringleader.

And that was
Ahmed Abu Khattala,

the leader
of Ubaydah Bin Jarrah, or UBJ.

- So you have
potential ringleader.

What, in your mind,
did you guys wanna do?

Can you arrest anybody?

You know, it's not our country.

- These cases are always
difficult to do, even at home.

But in this particular case,

working in a hostile,
non-permission environment,

it wasn't the same old thing.

But the first thing
that the case agents did,

along with their US
attorney counterparts,

they presented the case
to the judge,

who approved an arrest warrant
for Abu Khattala.

And in this particular case
with Abu Khattala,

it was gonna prove to be
a little bit more difficult,

not only in actually
being able to do it,

but challenging
because you also

have to know where they are.

And he wasn't an easy
individual to track.

While in country,
and while tracking Khattala,

we also have some fidelity
on Anas Al-Liby.

Now, Al-Liby, as you know,
was the individual indicted

for his participation
in the 1998 embassy bombings

in Kenya and Tanzania.
- Yes, yeah.

- Resulted in the death
of over 220 people.

[sirens wailing]

- [sobbing]

- But approval wasn't given
for both,

a dual operation,

a simultaneous capture
operation

of Al-Liby and Khattala.

And so the decision was made
to pursue Al-Liby.

And after
the capture operation

becomes public on Al-Liby...

- He is believed to have once
been close to Osama bin Laden

and is accused of playing
a role in the 1998 bombings

of two American embassies
in Africa,

which left more than 200 dead.

- All chaos breaks loose
on the streets of Libya.

[indistinct chatter
and singing]

- Of course, because
they're pissed off again.

- It was a little too hot,
and the US government,

the officials weren't
comfortable

in authorizing that operation
at that time.

- So that put your arrest plan
on hold, which wasn't helpful.

- Well, it wasn't helpful
that Khattala was free

to move about, right?
- Sure.

- And it certainly
wasn't helpful

when he was sitting
in a hotel lobby,

sipping on his fruit juice,
giving interviews.

- We met with
Ahmed Abu Khattala in public

at the coffee shop
of a well-known hotel

here in Benghazi
for around two hours.

And he agreed
to let us film audio

but not video
of our conversation.

- He didn't implicate himself

in any of the wrongdoing,
right?

But what he did say was,
he was there that night,

but he didn't participate.

- [speaking Arabic]

- [speaking Arabic]

- As we look at this
and try to say,

well, can we get
any good out of that?

The truth
of the matter is, yeah,

because now we have
Abu Khattala

on film saying he was there.

- He thinks he's
gotten away with this.

- It's almost like a mockery.

For me, Abu Khattala's actions

was thumbing his nose

to US government...
- US government, yeah.

- To the acts of violence

and the terrorism
that he was a part of.

Certainly wasn't a good look.

But he wasn't free
from being monitored.

When he showed up,
he gave us a starting point

that we could continue
to track his movements.

Not only did we have something
coming out of his own mouth,

but we know where he is now.

And so he may have
felt comfortable,

but we were certainly
moving towards a day

where he would not
feel comfortable.

It's not until
a few months later

where we start developing plans
to execute the arrest warrant.

And so the FBI case team
worked hand in hand

with their USIC counterparts,

developed a source
who can get close to Khattala.

- Placement and access.
- Placement and access.

And eventually, an individual
was identified who,

based on his credibility in
and around the Benghazi area,

who was capable
of getting close to Khattala

and developing the finer
points of a capture mission.

- So was that source
working well for...

- The source is doing
a tremendous job,

absolutely phenomenal job.

As you know,
these capture operations,

meticulous planning
is required.

- Of course.
It's gotta be all lined up.

- One of the things
the source was able to do

was speak with Khattala

and get him to visit
a seaside villa.

The idea that was
being pitched was,

Khattala could use this place
as a safe house

and a place to rest,

because as powerful as he was,

somebody always
wants the crown.

- Yeah.
- So he was targeted as well.

There were rival
militia factions there

that were not necessarily
in line.

- Yeah, he's not stupid.
- Right, he's not stupid.

He knows he has enemies.

He agreed to it.

And so with the capture
operation now approved,

the plan is put into motion.

As arranged,
the source meets Khattala,

and they drive
towards the seaside villa,

about a 20 or 30-minute ride.

- Nice.
- It's nighttime.

As they arrive, the source
gets out of the vehicle,

starts leading Khattala
into the house,

where US Special Operations
Forces were inside and waiting.

As Khattala entered
into the home,

he was engaged
by our operators.

Khattala was armed,
and he was a big guy.

And he fought back violently.

But in short order,
the operators were able

to disarm him
and get him under control.

And that's when they effected
the capture.

On that night, US Special
Operations Forces

went fishing,

and they caught a big fish.

Eventually, the team moves
towards the sea,

where they get on a boat,
and then they take a ride

and connect with
the USS New York out at sea.

But the ship now is making
its way back to the US.

And while on the ship,
they're conducting interviews.

The first set of investigators
have a different,

more urgent mission.

They're trying to figure out
whether Khattala's

involved with or knows
of another imminent attack.

When that kind of settles down,
then the investigative team,

who had been pursuing
this relentlessly,

they were next up on deck.

And they began
their interview process.

But their objective,

as you know,
is totally different.

They're trying to conduct an
interview in such a way that...

- For the criminal prosecution.
- For the criminal prosecution.

- Yeah, sure, of course.
- That's right.

I'm at an off-site facility

knowing that the operation
is gonna go down.

And they stayed focused and
dedicated to their mission...

- Sure.
- Which is to develop

the case
and bring Khattala to justice.

But why that day?

And why this facility?

During the course
of the investigation,

we determined that he believed

that the special mission
was an actual spy base.

And so wanting
to rid his city...

- Of a spy base.
- Of this American spy base,

that...
- Was his motive.

- His other motive was
to k*ll Americans.

And in fact,
he said, if he could

have k*lled more Americans,
he would have.

♪

- Well, Ari, my hat's off
to you guys and the team.

- Thank you.
- A year and a half,

I mean, the guy
is finally captured alive

so he can face prosecution.

- It's a tremendous feeling
of satisfaction.

All the hard work,
not only for me personally,

but a tremendous relief
for those who survived

and for the families.
- And the families.

- And this investigation,

it doesn't end with the capture
of Abu Khattala.

It continues on
for those who are responsible

for the deaths
of the Americans.