( CNN ) -- The suspected mastermind of the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi , Libya , is expected to be brought to American soil as soon as this weekend , a senior law enforcement source told CNN on Thursday . Ahmed Abu Khatallah was lured earlier this month to a location south of the city in eastern Libya and grabbed without a fight by U.S. commandos and FBI agents , multiple officials said . He 's spent most of the past two weeks aboard the USS New York being interrogated by the FBI-led High Value Detainee Interrogation Group , known as HIG , that includes agents from the FBI , CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency . As that vessel -- an amphibious transport dock ship -- nears the coast , it is expected that Abu Khatallah will be flown off of it on a V-22 Osprey aircraft to an undisclosed location , where he will be held as he awaits prosecution in a federal court in Washington . The Justice Department is expected to announce a formal indictment of Abu Khatallah soon after he arrives in the United States . Already , a federal judge has unsealed charges accusing Abu Khatallah of killing a person in the course of an attack on a federal facility with a firearm and dangerous weapons , as well as attempting and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists resulting in death . Abu Khatallah is accused in connection with the September 11 , 2012 , attack that left U.S . Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other U.S. citizens dead . President Barack Obama has described Abu Khatallah as `` one of the masterminds of the attack . '' `` It 's a message to the world , that when Americans are attacked , no matter how long it takes , we will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice . Regardless how long it takes , we will find you , '' the President said earlier this month . Republicans , though , have hammered Obama and members of his administration on Benghazi -- claiming they did n't do enough to protect the diplomatic mission and have since covered up what happened . Some GOP lawmakers criticized the Justice Department for failing to bring Abu Khatallah to justice even as he taunted U.S. authorities in a meeting with CNN 's Arwa Damon at a well-known luxury hotel in Benghazi in May 2013 . Chief among those targeted by Republicans is Hillary Clinton , secretary of state at the time of the attack and now the overwhelming favorite for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination , if she opts to run . She and administration officials have repeatedly denied the GOP allegations about Benghazi . After news broke of Abu Khatallah 's capture , Clinton said she was `` very pleased '' and hopefully it will shed more light on what happened . `` I 'm still looking for answers , '' she added . `` We 're doing our best we can to find out what happened . '' CNN 's Barbara Starr and Michael Martinez contributed to this report .
4 Americans , including its ambassador to Libya , died in a 2012 attack on a mission . Obama has said that Ahmed Abu Khatallah was `` one of the masterminds '' of the attack . Abu Khatallah was nabbed by U.S. commandos , FBI agents this month in Libya . He 's expected to be prosecuted in a federal court in Washington .