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Officials: US captures key militant in Benghazi attack

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2012 file photo, glass, debris and overturned furniture are strewn inside a room in the gutted U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. The Justice Department will not seek the death penalty against Ahmed Abu Khattala, the suspected Libyan militant charged in the Benghazi attacks that killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, federal officials announced Tuesday, May 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2012 file photo, glass, debris and overturned furniture are strewn inside a room in the gutted U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. The Justice Department will not seek the death penalty against Ahmed Abu Khattala, the suspected Libyan militant charged in the Benghazi attacks that killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, federal officials announced Tuesday, May 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri, File)

Washington • U.S. officials say special operations forces have captured a militant who was instrumental in the attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. The attack resulted in the death of the American ambassador to the country.

The officials say U.S. commandos captured the unidentified man in Libya and are transporting him back to the U.S. The officials say the mission was approved by President Donald Trump and done in coordination with Libya's internationally recognized government.

The officials weren't authorized to speak on the matter and demanded anonymity.

The September 2012 assault killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

The attack was the fodder of multiple congressional investigations to determine what went wrong and whether the Obama administration misled the public on the details of the bloody assault.

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By Matthew Lee and Lolita C. Baldor | The Associated Press