U.S. officials have announced that a former spokesperson for al Qaeda—who also happens to be a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden—has been captured overseas and is being has been brought to America to stand trial.

According to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, the CIA found Abu Ghaith in Ankara, Turkey, and tipped off local police who arrested him and held him for more than a month. Despite entering the country illegally from Iran, a Turkish court said he had to be released because he had not committed a crime in Turkey. The U.S. requested extradition, which was denied, however, it was decided that he could be deported to a country of his choosing. They decided to send him to Kuwait, via Jordan, but the CIA seized him en route. Abu Ghaith is actually Kuwaiti, but was stripped of his citizenship after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

He often appeared in al Qaeda propaganda videos, both by himself and alongside bin Laden. American officials plan to try him in New York for his connection to the 9/11 attacks. Rep. Peter King of New York told The Wall Street Journal that his capture is "a psychological victory for us and a psychological defeat for al Qaeda." The Journal also reports that he has been in New York since last week, and has been talking to investigators.

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Dashiell Bennett