US says Benghazi attack suspect killed in Iraq
- Published
The 2012 attack on the consulate in Benghazi left four Americans dead
The US says an air strike in Iraq has killed an Islamic State (IS) militant linked to an attack on a US diplomatic compound in Libya three years ago.
The Pentagon says Ali Awni al-Harzi died on 15 June in the city of Mosul, which is controlled by IS.
He was designated as a terrorist by the US Treasury and state department.
The US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, was among four Americans killed in the Benghazi attacks in September 2012.
US officials blamed the attack on militants linked to al-Qaeda.
The Pentagon described Harzi as "a person of interest" in the attack on the US compound.
It said he was an organisational intermediary who operated closely with extremists linked to IS - also known as Isil or Isis - throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
"His death degrades Isil's ability to integrate North African jihadists into the Syrian and Iraqi fight and removes a jihadist with long ties to international terrorism," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said.
The BBC's Barbara Plett Usher in Washington says the US is deeply concerned about the spread of IS affiliates, especially in Libya, though it has so far restricted its military campaign to the group's heartland in Syria and Iraq.