Q&A: What You Need to Know About Benghazi Suspect’s Terror Group

As the vicious Islamist group ISIS upended the status quo in Iraq, another terrorist network — Ansar al-Sharia – broke into the headlines. Although relatively few Americans recognize it by name, the organization played a key role in an event that shook the nation: the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya.

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Ahmed Abu Khattala, captured Sunday by U.S. special forces, is among leaders of the group accused of perpetrating the nearly nine-hour firefight that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, at the U.S. consulate and a nearby annex in Benghazi. Now, with Khattala in U.S. custody and being brought to justice as an alleged mastermind of the deadly attacks, experts are re-examining the danger Ansar al-Sharia poses to America. To help Americans tune into the debate and what’s at stake,The Heritage Foundation’s authority on Middle Eastern affairs, James Phillips, answered five questions from The Daily Signal about the origins and threat of Ansar al-Sharia. More...

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