Iraq, benghazi, clint ons new book, fair game, all topics of cnns exclusive town hall event. Hello, im wolf blitzer reporting from washington. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. We start with the breaking news out of libya. One of the prime suspects in the 2012 attack in benghazi has been captured, and he is in u. S. Custody. Four americans died in the attack. The white house released a statement from president obama that reads, in part, this individual will now face the full weight of the american justice system. Barbara starrs over at the pentagon. Shes got details. Our Senior International correspondent arwa damon is standing by in iraq. This is the first arrest connected with the benghazi attack. Give us the details. What is the pentagon saying . Wolf, more than just an arrest, this was a capture by u. S. Special Operations Forces. Theyre not telling us which unit, but special Operations Forces means tier one guys. This is the level of s. E. A. L. Team 6, delta force. These are the ones that go into these types of contested areas. Were told this happened near benghazi. Not perhaps in the city center itself. Suggesting perhaps that Ahmed Abu Khattalah has been traveling or moving around. We know the u. S. Military, the intelligence personnel and the fbi now had their eyes on him for some time. They were developing the very specific intelligence, when and where to move in. They had tried back in october to get him. That attempt did not work out. Theyve been keeping eyes on n benghazi very quietly for the last several months. We expect more details in the coming hours and days perhaps on how this mission went down. But abu ckhattalah, now, as the president said, will face u. S. Justice. He is expected, were told, to be on his way to the United States in the coming days. Charges in washington, d. C. Have been unsealed. They include, i want to read them to you, killing a person in the course of an attack on a federal facility, providing and attempting and conspiring to provide Material Support to terrorism, discharging, brandishing, using, carrying firearms. I think arwa will tell you more about all of this and how it relates to what Abu Khattalah says happened at benghazi, quite different than what the u. S. Charges are. They believe that this man was a major mastermind behind the september 2012 attacks that of course killed the u. S. Ambassador and three other americans. Wolf. I want you to stand by. Arwa damon is standing by, in erbil iraq right now. You actually met this man, Ahmed Abu Khattalah, in libya, more than a year ago. You sat down with him. I want to show our viewers your fascinating report. It aired on cnn september of last year. U. S. Officials have often suggested that they would be interested in speaking to a man named Ahmed Abu Khattalah about the events the night of the attack. Hes really not that difficult to find. We met with Ahmed Abu Khattalah in public at the coffee shop of a wellknown hotel here in benghazi for around two hours. He seemed to be confident, his demeanor most certainly not that of a man who believed he was going to be detained or targeted any time soon. And he agreed to let us film audio, but not video, of our conversation. He doesnt deny that he was there the night of the attack. [ speaking Foreign Language ] he claims he didnt even know the americans had a consulate in benghazi. Never mind having any information about a specific location. His narrative is unclear and at times seems to be contradictory. He says when he arrived at the perimeter of the compound, he saw men carrying rocket propelled grenades and medium guns and the gunfire prevented him from entering. By the time he managed to get inside the compound, everyone, he says, had withdrawn. Khattalah claims ambassador stevens suffocated because he was trying to burn important documents. [ speaking Foreign Language ] but in the long rambling interview, he also accuses the americans of using al qaeda as a boogie man whenever it suits them and adds [ speaking Foreign Language ] Ahmed Abu Khattalah. That was an amazing report. You went to libya once again in 2013. That report aired on cnn around the time of the anniversary, 2013, of the attack in benghazi, killing those four americans. You see that now. Its pretty chilling. Heres the question, how difficult was it to find him, because its taken the u. S. , clearly, a long time to capture this guy. He was one of the most wanted. Well, it wasnt that difficult, wolf, as you saw in that report. We werent the first journalists to speak to him. Although we were the First Television crew. There had been other print journalists, a handful of them before us, that had managed to reach out to him as well. This was not a man who appeared concerned for his security either. He had a security detail with him. Members of one of the other smaller islamist militias. Now what might have been a factor in the duration of time it took for the americans to pinpoint him is, one, the Political Climate in libya. Launching this kind of a snatch and grab operation is one incredibly difficult militarily speaking. Also, the americans had a very tenuous relationship with the Libyan Government. The libyans themselves were reluctant to go after him. They obviously knew exactly where he was all along. We asked if the americans specifically put forward any kind of request for the libyans themselves to go after him. Right now, the climate in benghazi is one that has really seen significant operations being launched. Going after various other islamist groups. Theres been this big backlash. Perhaps creating a Political Climate inside the country that would allow for less of a backlash after the u. S. Launches an operation like this one. But then, also, theres the reality of intelligence gathering. After the cia annex were shut down after the attack, the u. S. Lost a significant number of its assets on the ground. Its eyes on the ground, its boots on the ground. No longer in benghazi, operating in the way they were. That might have been part of the fact theyre contributed to the duration it took the americans to get their hands on him. Before u. S. Special forces caught up with khattalah, arwa damon caught up with khattalah. Arwa, thanks very much. Were going to get back to you on whats going on in iraq and other news. Stand by. Up next, islamist militants pushing closer and closer to the iraqi capital. The latest on isis and its brutal march across baghdad. Our own Anderson Cooper is on the scene. Hillary clinton can expect a lot of questions today about the benghazi terror attack, the capture of this key suspect by u. S. Forces who were now told will be brought before u. S. Justice, u. S. Court of law in the coming days. Hillary clinton getting ready to appear in a few hours from now at a town hall event, moderated by our own christiane amanpour. Irritated, itchy, summer skin . Count on cortizone10. With the strongest, nonprescription itch medicine for fast relief. And 7 moisturizers. Cortizone10. Feel the heal. Militants on a murderous rampage across iraq are now less than 40 miles from the capital, baghdad. Isis battling for control of baqubah. They stormed the Police Station. But the governor says baqubah has not fallen to isis militants. Anderson cooper is there. Whats the situation now . Its been a deadly day outside the capital and inside the capital as well. There were six bombs set off inside baghdad today. Five roadside bombs. At least one car bomb in sadr city. At least 12 People Killed according to iraqi police. Dozens wounded in those multiple bombingings. There is very tight security here in the capital. We went out as soon as we got out of our vehicles, police were on us, asking for identity papers. That has not been enough, though, to stop the bloodshed within the city itself. As you reported, the fight for baqubah continues from all reports. If the if isis fighters are able to take baqubah, that will put them within 37 miles of baghdad. Thats the closest they have gotten thus far. And its basically a straight shot from baqubah to the gates of baghdad, wolf. Anderson, a top priority of course is protecting, what, about 5,000 americans in baghdad. Some of the surrounding areas. Most of them in the socalled green zone at that huge u. S. Embassy complex. Whats the latest on how the u. S. Is preparing for whatever may come next, including the possibility of massive evacuations . Well, as you know, 275 military personnel have been brought to the region. More than 100 sent already to the embassy, since the weekend. Said to be about 100 more in the region. Thats about all the u. S. Military is saying. Capable of dealing with airlifts, helicopter transport and the like. All of that really to protect the enormous u. S. Embassy, which is really kind of a city within the city itself, inside the green zone. As you said, some 5,000 employees at that embassy. The largest most expensive embassy that the United States has anywhere in the world. So to evacuate it, that would obviously be a massive challenge, which is one of the reasons they brought in these troops. Combat ready troops, according to the white house. But obviously not directly engaged in the fight against isis. U. S. Taxpayers spent, what, 1 billion, building that embassy complex in the green zone in baghdad. Not far away from where you are, anderson. Let me get your analysis of this amazing Statement Released today by Prime MinisterNuri Al Malikis office, accusing saudi arabia of appeasing terrorists, providing support to these radical groups. Whats going on here . Certainly saudi arabia, they make the case that the royal family in saudi arabia feels they are under athreat from isis, according to saudi officials. Isis has been leafletting some areas in saudi arabia, trying to get recruits. They view isis as a security threat. Maliki is pointing the finger at saudi arabia. The facts on the ground right now is isis has made so much money from the fight in syria, taking over oil fields, exto extorting money, a variety of rackets, looting antiquities and selling them, very highpriced items. Now that they have taken over mosul, as you know, they were able to raid government banks as well as private banks and take a lot of gold, hundreds of millions of dollars. This now may be, probably the most wellfunded terrorist organization, jihadist organization, in the world with more money than al qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula or other groups out there. At this point, it seems they have no lack of funds and recruiting more people is probably going to be easier for them, now that theyve had successes on the battlefield here in iraq. Mosul alone, the second largest city in iraq, nearly 2 million people, they looted all those banks and they walked away, most estimates suggesting at least half a billion dollars, 500 million in cash and in gold among other priceless items. Anderson, thanks very much. Anderson will host will anchor a special edition of ac 360 once again live tonight from baghdad, 8 00 p. M. Eastern, right here on cnn. He will interview, among tony blair, the former british Prime Minister. Anderson, thanks very much. With isis fighters just miling from baghdad, ill ask the former u. S. Ambassador to iraq, james jeffrey, what needs to be done to make sure that compound is secure. Replace your laptop . Start with the best writing experience. Make it incredibly thin. 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The heart of american operations in iraq of course is the u. S. Embassy in baghdad. Right now, the u. S. Is mobilizing troops to protect the compound. There are hundreds more on standby as well as dozens of helicopters. Our tom foreman takes a closer look at whats at stake. If you look at a map of iraq, you can see that baghdad is more or less in the middle of the country. Baghdad, in the middle of the city, you can find the heavily protected green zone. Thats where the u. S. Emwabassy is, boarded on the south side by the tigris river. Completed at the cost of 2350 million, biggest embassy in the world. It is guarded on all sides. There are barricades. There are switch k bas. And there are guard posts at every place you might get inside this giant blast wall designed to protect it from any sort of attack. The man presiding over all of this is ambassador steven becroft. He lived inside here. There are half a dozen apartment buildings for staff. Offices handle everything from trade deals to visas to agriculture. There are about 5,600 workers who labor each day behind these fortified walls, troops standing by to protect them in the event of an attack. They cant leave without heavy guard. As a result, this is a place where they have to have everything they need. Theres a swimming pool. There are tennis courts. Theres a cafeteria. Theres even a movie theater. And the ability to generate their own water and power. All part of the cost of doing business in a very dangerous part of the world. Tom foreman reporting, thank you. What options does the United States have to make sure those people at the u. S. Embassy are protected . There are other americans, lots of them, in other places of iraq. Lets bring in the former Deputy National security adviser and the former ambassador to iraq, james jeffrey. Thanks for joining us. Can you believe were even talking about security at the u. S. Embassy in baghdad right now, and the fear that those 5,000 americans who are there could be in danger, they have to be evacuated . What does that say to you . What it says is theres a breakdown in the overall security of the host nation. At the end of the day, the host nation has the primary responsibility. When that begins melting away, as we see now, the president and his top advisers are going to focus on this night and day. This isnt benghazi. Theyre doing everything they can under these circumstances to ensure the Embassy Remains safe. But the underlying situation, particularly places like baqubah and to the south of baghdad falling under the sway of the isis is a danger to essentially cut off and besiege the city. Thats worry number one. The president yesterday announced he wrote to congress as part of the war powers act, he was dispatching 275 combat equipped u. S. Troops to the embassy area, the socalled green zone, to protect americans. 275 doesnt sound like a whole lot, but heres a question, i dont know if you know the answer off the top of your head. Do these american combat forces who are now being dispatched to baghdad, will they have immunity from iraqi prosecution . Because that was the big Sticking Point when all u. S. Troops were withdrawn, as far as the status of forces agreement that never really materialized. Its a very good question, wolf. But in an emergency situation, the president , as commander in chief, can do everything under the constitution to protect americans and thats the underlying reason why those american troops are now there. When i hear 275 are on their way, i begin to worry that could just be the beginning. There may be a whole lot more troops needed. Is that your fear as well . Its not my fear. First of all, the president has promised no american boots on the ground, other than these. And thats a valid position. What he has to consider, and im sure they are considering, is to use air power to stop this drive on baghdad itself. If they can do that, that will stabilize the situation, relieve the pressure on us for the epbase and most importantly, preclude iran from intervening with significant Ground Troops on the side of the largely shia government. Thats the immediate problem. The political situation and what to do with the huge chunk of iraq under isis control now, thats a longer term problem. You think its the beginning of the end of Nuri Al Maliki in iraq . I think he