ahmed abu khatalla was captured. susan mcginnis is in washington where there's sharp debate over how to handle the suspect. susan. >> good morning, anne-marie. here's the essence of the e-mail. some want him held at guantanamo bay and interrogated at length. some democrats say the u.s. federal court system is the right place to gain intelligence from him and bring him to justice. u.s. officials believe this is a photo of ahmed abu khatalla. the libyan militant who was on his way to the u.s. to face trial for his alleged role in the deadly 2012 attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. it's the first arrest connected to the assault that killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans. >> when americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice. >> u.s. military commandos tracked khatalla to a small seaside villa south of benghazi. following months of planning, they captured him sunday without firing a single shot. khatalla is report lid o

well, right after the benghazi attacks in september 2012, ahmed abu khatalla openly met with reporters saying if i'm a suspect, come and get me. well, sunday night, u.s. special operations forces did just that. u.s. officials believe this is a photo of ahmed abu khatalla, one who officials say helped orchestrate the attack on the consulate in benghazi. after the fbi agents silently converge odden the home and quickly captured khatalla without firing a shot. no one was hurt. >> it's important to send a message to the world that when messages are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice. >> khatalla is now aboard a u.s. navy ship on the mediterranean where he's being interrogated by a special intelligence team. khatalla's capture was not made public until tuesday to preserve the integrity of the criminal case against him. >> we had to also make sure that those involved, that their security and safety was looked after as well. >> khatalla, believed to be a senior leader of the radical group was federally charged last july for

under heavy security in washington, d.c., ahmed abu khatalla made hits -- his first appearance in federal court this afternoon and pleaded not guilty to charge of conspiracy to provide support to terrorists. for the last two weeks, khatalla had been held and interrogated on navy ship before being flown by helicopter into washington this morning. mark albert begins our coverage. >> reporter: the entire hearing took just ten minutes in a heavily guarded courthouse blocks from the capitol. flanked by u.s. marshals, khatalla appeared in federal court in dark hooded sweatshirt and dark pants. he was not visibly restrained and raised his right hand to take the oath. through an interpreter, khatalla said he understood the charge against him, a one-count indictment of conspiring to provide support to terrorists. khatalla's appointed attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. other charges will likely be added later, part of a government strategy to keep sensitive information under wrap in the a public criminal trial. the justice department describes khatalla as one of the key leaders behin

ahmed abu khatalla was taken to washington dr. where he appeared in federal courthouse. the government says it intends to file more charges against him. witnesses say he directed the assault, he maintains he is innocent. >>> the iraqi government says its army has pushed sunni extremists out of the town of tikrit. also today there are reports of iraqi air tacks in the rebel- held town of mosul. cnn reports that at least seven civilians were killed and two wounded. >> the government always in the problems, and the only losers is the iraqi people. we need a solution. >> the u.s. confirms its flying armed drones in iraq to protect u.s. personnel on the ground, but say that american troops are not directly involved in the fighting. some 300 us military advisors are in iraq helping the iraqi military confront the militants. >> house minority leader nancy pelosi says she has little hope that congress will pass comprehensive immigration reform this year. more than 52,000 children have been picked up entering the u.s. illegally alone since october. president obama called this wav

by the way, today i know many are celebrating the capture of ahmed abu khatalla, one of the terrorists who attacked the american compound in benghazi. and i am glad to hear that we have captured him and understand he might be on his way back to the united states of america. it's interesting because we got notice. i don't know if the chairman was notified. that wasn't required by law, by the way. it's just common practice that that happens when you have a relationship between the administration and congress that it's confidential. we were notified of course with regard to the bin laden capture. i can't imagine the bin laden capture was any less sensitive or any different in kind to make it something that we could do notification on and couldn't do it on the release of these five detainees from guantanamo. so this is something that i think is very reasonable. we're asking for justification not after the decision is made. that's not what the legislation says. it says before the decision is made so that congress can have the opportunity to discuss this with the president and to make sure t

. >> reporter: ahmed abu khatalla appeared in federal court, not visibly restrained but flanked by u.srshals. according to the justice department, khatalla was one of the key organizers of the attack on the american diplomatic compound in benghazi, libya, that killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans in september 2012. the incident created political firestorm in washington with republicans accusing the obama administration of not taking appropriate measures to protect the americans. cat was seized in a raid near benghazi conducted by u.s. special operations forces two weeks ago inch a brief hearing, the government charged khatalla with just one count: conspiring to provide support to terrorists. khatalla pleaded not guilty. more charges will likely come later. before being read his miranda rights, sources say khatalla cooperated with u.s. interrogators, but nothing he said before that point will be admissible in court. for "sunday morning," i'm mark albert in washington. >> after two weeks of demoralizing defeats at the hands of sunni insurgents, iraqi forces are