U.S. capture of terror suspect al-Libi seen in rare video

Video shows U.S. commandos capturing terror suspect

WASHINGTON -- A video obtained and published by The Washington Post Monday shows the capture Anas al-Libi, one of the FBI's most wanted terror suspects, who was grabbed in Tripoli, Libya, last fall.

Anas al-Libi is seen in an FBI file photo. AP Photo/FBI

In the video, al-Libi's car stops in front of his house shortly before dawn last October. A white van pulls up next to him and Delta commandos leap out. Freeze the video and you can clearly see one of them standing in front of the car his pistol trained on the front seat. Another van pulls into blocking position as a second commando goes for the driver's side door. The commandos wrestle al-Libi out of his car and into the van and speed away.

The next day al-Libi's family described the attack, which was presumably recorded by a security camera. A few dings and one broken window were the only evidence of the violent confrontation. By then, al-Libi was being interrogated aboard a U.S. Navy ship in the Mediterranean.

The U.S. commandos' capture of al-Libi is believed to have been captured on surveillance video. The Washington Post

He is believed to have once been close to Osama Bin Laden and is accused of playing a role in the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in Africa, which left more than 200 dead.

From the ship, he was taken to New York, where, 15 years after, he is awaiting trial for the embassy bombings. He has pleaded innocent to the charges against him.

American commandos have been carrying out kill or capture raids virtually every night in Afghanistan and before that in Iraq. But it is extremely rare to ever see them in action, especially in a country like Libya, where the U.S. is not at war.

David Martin

David Martin is CBS News' National Security Correspondent.

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