On tonight’s “Special Report,” anchor Bret Baier reported that the man who led last week’s deadly attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi is believed to have been released from Gitmo into Libyan custody in 2007.
@bretbaier says the person released from Gitmo was "maybe the leader of the attack on the consulate" in Benghazi
— Ed Henry (@edhenry) September 19, 2012
Person released from Gitmo — Sufyan Ben Qumu (name has also been listed as Sofiane Ibrahim Gammu) — may have led attack, per sources
— Ed Henry (@edhenry) September 19, 2012
Baier: Qumu released from Gitmo in 2007 "and transferred to Libyan custody under the condition that he would be kept in jail. He wasn't"
— Ed Henry (@edhenry) September 19, 2012
Earlier this afternoon, an Obama Administration official finally acknowledged what we’ve known all along: that the attacks in Benghazi constituted an act of terrorism:
“I would say yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy,” Matt Olsen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, in response to questioning from Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT) about the attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
As for who was responsible, Olsen said it appears there were attackers from a number of different militant groups that operate in and around Benghazi, and said there are already signs of al Qaeda involvement.
“We are looking at indications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections to al Qaeda or al Qaeda’s affiliates; in particular, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,” he said.
Fox News’ intelligence sources believe that the attacks are definitely linked to al Qaeda.
Intelligence sources tell Fox News.. they are convinced the attack on the consulate in Benghazi was directly… http://t.co/mLb3SYNi
— Special Report Team (@SpecialReport) September 19, 2012
Intelligence sources tell Fox News.. they are convinced the attack on the consulate in Benghazi was directly tied to al Qaeda.. and believe a former detainee at the US prison at Guantanimo Bay, Cuba may have not only been a part of the attack.. but, may have led it. Sufyan Ben Qumu – a Libyan -was released from Gitmo in 2007 and was transferred to Libyan custody under the specific condition that he would be kept in jail… he was released by Qaddafi’s regime as part of its reconciliation effort with Islamists in 2008.
The Washington Free Beacon has video of the report:
Fox: Former Gitmo Detainee May Have Led Benghazi Attack http://t.co/uOUs6jnv
— Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) September 19, 2012
Nice that this news comes the day after President Obama told David Letterman that he totally expects the Muslim world to “keep our people safe.” Don’t you all feel better now?
Twitterers reacted to the revelations:
Good thing the ring leader of the Benghazi attack wasn't released from Gitmo. Oh wait…
— Jason B. Whitman, OD (@JasonBWhitman) September 19, 2012
Really? You mean the Benghazi attack WASN'T a spontaneous attack because of an absurd video on You Tube? Hello? Amb Rice? Please explain.
— Sally Canfield — The Quarantined Edition (@TheLifeofSally) September 19, 2012
https://twitter.com/treyhardin16/status/248543471307218947
https://twitter.com/_starstar/status/248543736802447360
So, Blame Bush? RT @JonahNRO: Wow Bret Baier reporting right now, alleged ringleader of Benghazi attack was released from Gitmo in 2007.
— Jim Lakely (@jlakely) September 19, 2012
Wait – what? I thought Benghazi was just a protest over a movie that got a little out of control.
— Morgen Richmond (@morgenr) September 19, 2012
Wait. A former Gitmo detainee orchestrated the Benghazi attacks? Lovely. #headdesk
— Mary #FlyTheW (@mchastain81) September 19, 2012
RT @gilcarvr: 'cisely RT @llondo So a former Gitmo detainee spearheaded the Benghazi attack? Boy, it's a good thing we already apologized.
— spot_the_dog (sdog) (@s_dog) September 19, 2012
Report: Ringleader of Benghazi attack was released from Gitmo. Wait, you mean we kept an anti-Islam video in Gitmo?
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) September 19, 2012
Heh. It’s funny because it’s true. And frightening. Will all those who leapt to the defense of radical Islamists and blamed a filmmaker for the rash of anti-American violence now defend an al Qaeda associate by blaming a crappy movie for his role in Americans’ deaths?
https://twitter.com/brady_cremeens/status/248551252852633601
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