Benghazi suspect imprisoned

TUNIS, Tunisia – A jailed Tunisian man is “strongly suspected” of being involved in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed four Americans, a top Tunisian official has confirmed.

Interior Minister Ali Larayedh said there were “major assumptions” that Ali Harzi, who was arrested and repatriated from Turkey, had a link to the attack in the Libyan city that killed U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans on Sept. 11. It was unusual for Larayedh to speak so publicly about the sensitive investigation in the television interview late Wednesday.

Harzi is one of two Tunisians arrested in Turkey. Any involvement of his raises the possibility that it wasn’t just Libyans attacking the U.S. consulate. Egypt has also reported that a local militant believed to be involved in the Benghazi attack was killed by security forces.

“There are two Tunisians that were arrested by Turkish authorities, who then repatriated them. One of the two is still free, the other has been arrested and is strongly suspected to have been involved in the attack of Benghazi,” Larayedh said, adding that an investigation was underway.

Harzi is believed to have been a member of the Ansar al-Sharia, a Salafi group in Tunisia, according to an official close to the judiciary. A Libyan militia by the same name is believed to have been behind the Benghazi attack, according to witnesses who saw vehicles with the heavily armed group’s logo participate in the assault.