Four Americans died in the 2012 Benghazi attack: Ambassador Chris Stevens, Information Officer Sean Smith, [1] and two CIA operatives, [2] Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, [3] [4] both former Navy SEALs. [5] [6] Stevens is the first U.S. ambassador killed in an attack since Adolph Dubs was killed in 1979. [7] Senior intelligence officials later acknowledged that Woods and Doherty were contracted by the Central Intelligence Agency, not the State Department as previously identified, [8] and were part of Global Response Staff (GRS), a team that provides security to CIA case officers and countersurveillance and surveillance protection. [9]
Initial reports indicated that ten Libyan guards died; this was later retracted and it was reported that seven Libyans were injured. [10] An early report indicated that three Americans were injured in the attack and treated at an American military hospital in Germany. [11]
Since then, reports differ regarding the number of Americans wounded in the attacks. The ARB report released December 20, 2012, stated that two Americans were wounded. [12] In March 2013 it was reported that the State Department said there were four injured Americans. [13] In August 2013, CNN reported that seven Americans were wounded, some seriously. [14]
Members of U.S. diplomatic mission who died in Benghazi, Libya | |||
---|---|---|---|
J. Christopher Stevens, U.S. Ambassador to Libya | Sean Smith, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer | Glen Doherty (see below) | Tyrone S. Woods (see below) |
Glen Anthony "Bub" Doherty (July 10, 1970 – September 12, 2012) [15] of Encinitas, California, [16] was a native of Winchester, Massachusetts, [17] and a 1988 graduate of Winchester High School. [18]
Doherty was the second of three children born to Bernard and Barbara Doherty. He trained as a pilot at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University before moving to Snowbird, Utah for several winters and then joining the United States Navy in 1995. Doherty served as a Navy SEAL sniper and Corpsman, responded to the bombing of USS Cole and had tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He left the navy in 2005 as a petty officer first class and joined the CIA. [19] After leaving the navy, he worked for a private security company in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Kenya and Libya. He was centrally involved in the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch from Iraqi forces in 2003 and the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates in 2009. [17] In the month prior to the attack, Doherty as a contractor with the State Department, told ABC News in an interview that he personally went into the field in Libya to track down MANPADS, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, and destroy them. [20]
A Roman Catholic, Doherty was a member of the advisory board of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an organization that opposes proselytizing by religious groups in the United States military. [21] He also co-wrote the book The 21st Century Sniper. [21] [22]
Doherty's funeral Mass was held at Saint Eulalia's parish in his native Winchester on September 19, 2012. [23] His celebration of life was held in Encinitas, California, during the weekend of October 12–14, 2012. [24] [25]
Doherty was portrayed by actor Toby Stephens in the 2016 film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi . [26]
Tyrone Snowden "Rone" Woods Sr. (January 15, 1971 – September 12, 2012), of Imperial Beach, California, [16] was born in Portland, Oregon. Woods graduated from Oregon City High School in 1989, [27] south of Portland, Oregon, and served 21 years of honorable service in the U.S. Navy before joining the State Department Diplomatic Security Service [28] as a U.S. embassy security operative, [4] ostensibly working under a service contract. [29] Since 2010, Woods had protected American diplomats in posts from Central America to the Middle East. [30] In November 2012, senior U.S. intelligence officials said that Woods and Doherty were actually CIA contractors, not State Department security officers as had been previously reported, [31] and that the two men, together with other CIA security officers, played a pivotal role in defending the besieged US Special Mission in Benghazi. [32]
As a Navy SEAL in 2005–06, Woods was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" for valor in Iraq. [28] [33] He led 12 direct action raids and 10 reconnaissance missions leading to the capture of 34 enemy insurgents in the volatile Al Anbar province. [28] He served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Middle East and Central America. [34] He retired as a senior chief petty officer in 2010. [35] [36]
Woods also served with distinction at the Naval Medical Center San Diego as a registered nurse and certified paramedic. [33] Having settled in Imperial Beach, California, for a year of his retirement he owned The Salty Frog bar there; he is survived by his second wife, Dr. Dorothy Narvaez-Woods, their one child, [37] and two sons from a previous marriage. [36] Woods was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. [38]
Woods was portrayed by actor James Badge Dale in the 2016 film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi . [39]
Benghazi is the second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean, Benghazi is also a major seaport.
Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda Bin Qumu is a citizen of Libya who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts report he was born on 26 June 1959, in Derna, Libya.
Libya–United States relations are the bilateral relations between the State of Libya and the United States of America. Relations are today cordial and cooperative, with particularly strong security cooperation only after the 2012 attack on the US liaison office or mission in Benghazi. Furthermore, a Gallup poll conducted in March and April 2012 found that Libyans had "among the highest approval" of US leadership in the entire Middle East and North Africa region.
Winchester High School is a comprehensive 9–12 high school located in Winchester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1850, it moved into its current location in the spring of 1972. Ranked 29th among Massachusetts High Schools, close to 98% of students graduated in 2023, with about 96% of those continuing to higher education.
Following the end of the First Libyan Civil War, which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, there was violence involving various militias and the new state security forces. This violence has escalated into the Second Libyan Civil War (2014–2020).
The release of the anti-Islamic short film Innocence of Muslims triggered numerous demonstrations across North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. On September 11, 2012, dozens of protestors scaled the walls and entered the courtyard of the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt. On September 13, 2012, protests occurred at the U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen, resulting in the deaths of four protesters and injuries to thirty-five protesters and guards. On September 14, the U.S. consulate in Chennai was attacked, resulting in injuries to twenty-five protesters. Protesters in Tunis, Tunisia, climbed the U.S. embassy walls and set trees on fire. At least four people were killed and forty-six injured during protests in Tunis on September 15. Further protests were held at U.S. diplomatic missions and other locations in the days following the initial attacks. Related protests and attacks resulted in numerous deaths and injuries across the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
John Christopher Stevens was an American career diplomat and lawyer who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Libya from May 22, 2012, to September 11, 2012. Stevens was killed when the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked by members of Ansar al-Sharia on September 11–12, 2012.
Sean Patrick Smith was an American diplomat and information management officer with the United States Foreign Service who was killed during the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
The 2012 Benghazi attack was a coordinated attack against two United States government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, by members of the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia. On September 11, 2012, at 9:40 p.m. local time, members of Ansar al-Sharia attacked the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi resulting in the deaths of both United States Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith. At around 4:00 a.m. on September 12, the group launched a mortar attack against a CIA annex approximately one mile (1.6 km) away, killing two CIA contractors Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty and wounding ten others. Initial analysis by the CIA, repeated by top government officials, indicated that the attack spontaneously arose from a protest. Subsequent investigations showed that the attack was premeditated—although rioters and looters not originally part of the group may have joined in after the attacks began.
Following the 2012 diplomatic missions attacks that began on September 11, 2012, many nations and public officials released statements. Widespread early news coverage said that the protests were a spontaneous response to an online preview of Innocence of Muslims, a movie considered offensive to Muslims. Later consideration of the Libya attack's complexity, of statements made by some Libyan officials, and of the potentially symbolic date fueled speculation of preplanned efforts. U.S. missions in Cairo, Egypt, and Benghazi, Libya, were attacked during the first day of the protest.
Ansar al-Sharia in Libya was an Al-Qaeda-aligned Salafi Jihadist militia group that advocated the implementation of Sharia law across Libya. Ansar al-Sharia came into being in 2011, during the Libyan Civil War. Until January 2015, it was led by its "Amir", Muhammad al-Zahawi. As part of its strategy, the organization targeted specific Libyan and American civilians for death and took part in the 2012 Benghazi attack. The group was designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Ahmed Salim Faraj Abu Khattala is an incarcerated Libyan, who commanded a small militia during the 2011 uprising against Qaddafi. He participated in the 2012 Benghazi attack on the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi, in which Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
The February 17th Martyrs Brigade was a militia to secure law and order in Libya.
The timeline below details the ongoing investigation into the September 11, 2012 attack upon the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi, in Libya. The attack and the investigation are the subject of much controversy in the American political sphere.
The United States House Select Committee on Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi was created after Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner, on May 2, 2014, proposed that a House select committee would be formed to further investigate the Benghazi attack on September 11, 2012. During the attack, the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked, resulting in the deaths of the U.S. ambassador to that country, J. Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a 2016 American biographical action-thriller film, directed and produced by Michael Bay. Written by Chuck Hogan, it is based on Mitchell Zuckoff's 2014 book. The film follows six members of the Annex Security Team who fought to defend the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya after waves of attacks by militants on September 11, 2012. The film stars James Badge Dale, John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber, Max Martini, David Denman and Dominic Fumusa, with supporting roles by Toby Stephens, Alexia Barlier and David Costabile. Filming began on April 27, 2015, in Malta and Morocco.
Ten investigations were conducted into the 2012 Benghazi attack, six of these by Republican-controlled House committees. Problems were identified with security measures at the Benghazi facilities, due to poor decisions made by employees of the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and specifically its director Eric Boswell, who resigned under pressure in December 2012. Despite numerous allegations against Obama administration officials of scandal, cover-up and lying regarding the Benghazi attack and its aftermath, none of the ten investigations found any evidence to support those allegations. The last of the investigation committees issued its final report and shut down in December 2016, one month after the 2016 presidential election.
Kristian Joaquin "Tanto" Paronto is an American author, businessman, and former Army Ranger and CIA security contractor. He is known for his actions while part of the CIA annex security team during the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Chris Stevens and the CIA compound in Benghazi. He is featured in the book 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi and is credited as a co-author, and is author of the self-help books The Patriot's Creed: Inspiration and Advice for Living a Heroic Life and The Ranger Way: Living the Code On and Off the Battlefield.
The President spoke at 2:46 p.m. at Joint Base Andrews, MD. In his remarks, he referred to Dorothy Narvaez-Woods, wife, Tyrone Jr. and Hunter, sons, and Kai, daughter, of Tyrone S. Woods, security officer, Department of State; and Heather Smith, wife of Sean P. Smith, foreign service officer, Department of State, and their children Samantha and Nathan.
Mr. Woods had recently moved from La Jolla, Calif., with his wife, Dorothy, and their infant son, Kai, to a quiet suburban cul-de-sac in Henderson, Nev., less than 10 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. He is also survived by two teenage sons from his marriage to Ms. So, Tyrone Jr. and Hunter.