Terrorism

Several members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took part in last year’s terrorist attack on the U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya, CNN reported.

A senior law enforcement official told CNN that “three or four” men who took part in the attack were from Yemen and members of AQAP.

It’s unclear still whether they had been sent by AQAP to take part in the attack or were already in Benghazi and joined as the opportunity arose.

A spokesman for the IG's office said this marks the first time the office will review a review board's process.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Washington put out a statement Thursday reiterating that its two citizens arrested in connection with the Boston bombing haven't been charged with aiding in the attack.

The statement follows an outpouring of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric on social media after police identified two Chechen brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, as the perpetrators of the attack that killed three people and injured more than 200. The Boston Police Department arrested two Kazakh friends of Dzhokhar, Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, with obstruction of justice on Wednesday for allegedly seeking to destroy evidence linking their friend to the bombings.

“We would like to emphasize that our citizens did not receive charges of involvement in the organization of Boston Marathon bombings. They were charged with destroying evidence,” the ministry said. “At present, our citizens receive the necessary consular assistance. Their guilt has not been proven and the investigation is ongoing. Both Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov cooperate with the investigative bodies and provide them assistance.

Conservative firebrand Allen West is the latest high-profile name to add his voice to calls for the creation of a select committee to investigate last year's attack in Benghazi, Libya, and the Obama administration's response.

The one-term Florida congressman and Army veteran endorsed the creation of the panel in a letter to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), the sponsor of a resolution calling on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to create the special panel. The resolution has 135 co-sponsors — more than half the Republican Conference — but is opposed by leadership and the chairmen of the committees of jurisdiction.

“As an Army officer, I learned the integral principles of war, unity of effort and unity of command. Having a singular select committee on the Benghazi issue requires adherence to those two fundamentals,” he wrote. “I urge the remaining Republicans who have not yet cosponsored to sign on to H. Res 36 when the House returns next week. After 8 months, it's time for a Select Committee to ensure the families of the victims and the American people get the answers they deserve.”

The administration on Wednesday strongly denied reports Saudi officials had flagged Tamerlan Tsarnaev as a terror threat.

The State Department is expected to release its annual Country Report on Terrorism in the latter half of May, missing today's deadline by a few weeks, according to a State Department spokesperson.

The much-anticipated annual report was released much later last year -- in July.

Obama said he would call on lawmakers to "step up and help me" close the controversial military prison.

The president said he was committed to find out "exactly what happened" in the deadly attack.

“We've done an independent investigation, that it's been transparent, thorough, credible, and detailed," said spokesman Patrick Ventrell. 

House Republicans and Democrats made the remarks at a hearing on Islamist extremism in Chechnya.