CAIRO/WASHINGTON, September 12 – The US ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other embassy staff were killed in Tuesday’s rocket attack in Benghazi, according to a Libyan official.

“The Libyan ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them,” the official in Benghazi told Reuters.


The Libyan official said the US ambassador had been on his way to a safer venue after protesters attacked the US Consulate in Benghazi and opened fire, killing a staff member, in protest at a US film that they deemed blasphemous to the Prophet Mohammad.

The official said the ambassador and three other staff were killed when gunmen fired rockets at his car. He said the US embassy had sent a military plane to transport the bodies to Tripoli to fly them to the United States.

The news on Wednesday follows confirmation by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, on Tuesday that a US state department officer was killed in an attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, and she condemned the violence.

Gunmen attacked US offices in the eastern Libyan city and fought security forces in protest over what they said was a film being produced in the US that insulted the Prophet Mohammed.

Earlier on Tuesday, Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the US embassy in Cairo, tore down the American flag and burnt itagainst a film.

“Some have sought to justify this vicious behaviour as a response to inflammatory material posted on the internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others,” Mrs Clinton said in a statement. “But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.”

In Egypt, in place of the US flag, the protesters tried to raise a black flag with the words “There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his messenger”, a witness said.

Once the US flag was hauled down, some protesters tore it up and showed off pieces to television cameras. Others burnt the remains outside the fortresslike embassy building in central Cairo. But some protesters objected to the flag burning.

Many Muslims consider any depiction of the prophet to be offensive.

Mitt Romney, Republican presidential candidate, criticised the Obama administration’s initial response to the violent attacks at the US diplomatic missions, as a campaign centred on the US economy took a detour into foreign policy.

Mr Romney, who has made fixing the weak US economy his central cause for defeating President Barack Obama in the November election, was quick to pounce on President Barack Obama over developments in Libya and Egypt. Mr Romney has long sought to make the case that the Obama administration has apologised for US actions abroad and says he would never “apologise for America”.

“I’m outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi,” Mr Romney said in a statement before news of the death of the ambassador and three others.

“It’s disgraceful that the Obama administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathise with those who waged the attacks,” he said.

The Obama campaign criticised Mr Romney for his response.

“We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack,” said Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt.

In Cairo, about 20 people stood on top of the embassy wall, while about 2,000 protesters gathered outside. The demonstrators were mainly supporters of Islamist groups or young ultras.

“This movie must be banned immediately and an apology should be made,” said Ismail Mahmoud, 19, a member of the “ultras” football supporters who played a big role in the uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak last year.

He called on Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first civilian president and an Islamist, to take action, without giving details of the film that angered him or other protesters.

Rafik Farouk, 38, a Christian, also took part. “I am here because I am Egyptian and reject anything that insults Islam or anything that sparks division in Egypt,” he said.

Washington has a big mission in Egypt, partly because of a huge aid programme that followed Egypt’s signing of a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The US gives $1.3bn to Egypt’s military each year and offers the nation other aid.

The US state department said the wall was breached and the flag removed. “We are obviously working with Egyptian security to try to restore order at the embassy and to work with them to try to get the situation under control.”

Following the protest, Egypt’s foreign ministry said it was committed to giving all embassies the necessary protection.

The US embassy had put out a statement earlier on Tuesday condemning “misguided individuals” who hurt the religious feelings of Muslims or followers of other religions.

Although it was not clear which film prompted the protests, Egypt’s al-Azhar mosque, a seat of Sunni learning, condemned on Tuesday a symbolic “trial” of the Prophet organised by a US group including Terry Jones, a Christian pastor who triggered riots in Afghanistan in 2010 by threatening to burn the Koran.

According to the Standupamericanow website, Mr Jones and others were due to take part in an event on Tuesday called “International judge Mohammed day” in Florida. It was to be carried live on the internet.

Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox church also condemned in a statement some Copts living abroad who it said financed “the production of a film insulting prophet Mohammed”, a state website reported. About a 10th of Egypt’s 83m people are Christians.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e8d91afe-fc53-11e1-aef9-00144feabdc0.html#axzz26FYlqoyH

Destruction: Plumes of smoke and flames can be seen rising out of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi after the building was raided by gunmen who set it on fire







[imghttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/12/article-2201780-14F6D2AE000005DC-905_964x637.jpg][/img]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j143YQYU0s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_N_KVVex1A

US will take this lightly. Btw, where was the police when all this was going on?

not surprised

I think Islam is finally showing the world exactly what it stands for after this violent invasion of the American embassy in Cairo and the threat of physical violence against historian Tom Holland.

Peace is the last thing on the minds of it's followers.

can u post d film here? i cant find it on d internet. i meant d mohammed film from california

@frosbel

Misleading title, and why did u change it from reuters, is it becoz they seem incapable of conveying your religious bigotry?

Clearly this is a sad incident, killing someone for a crime he did not commit without even following due process.

But this is the price libyans and the world will have to pay in the interim till all the illigal arms that flooded libya during the uprising and retaken or the libyan govt. Is able to adequately perform its security duties. One hopes the govt will prosecute those responsible!

vedaxcool: @frosbel

Misleading title, and why did u change it from reuters, is it becoz they seem incapable of conveying your religious bigotry?

Clearly this is a sad incident, killing someone for a crime he did not commit without even following due process.

But this is the price libyans and the world will have to pay in the interim till all the illigal arms that flooded libya during the uprising and retaken or the libyan govt. Is able to adequately perform its security duties. One hopes the govt will prosecute those responsible!

Misleading title

It's all over the place, even Al Jazeerah.

He was killed because of an incident that happened in America regarding a movie on ISLAM's prophet.

When will you guys accept responsibility for your actions , it's always false never true.

SMH

I do not sympathize with the US at all.when you play with $hit you will smell like $hit.they sponsored these people in libya to humiliate Qaddafi-not like am a fan of qaddafi either.in Syria,the americans are sending libyan mercenaries and alqaeda terrorists to destabilize syria and force a regime change under the false impression of revolution and riding the tide of the "arab spring".in afghanistan,they did the same thing using bin laden before he turned against them.

As for terry jones and whoever is behind him,insulting the beliefs of muslims will do him no good or his country.he isn't going to get any positive result.when you insult Islam,you're not only insulting the acclaimed religion of those the US hate and the terrorists who do not represent Islam.but he is also insulting the religion of all muslims regardless of their affiliations and point of views.

LagosShia: I do not sympathize with the US at all.when you play with $hit you will smell like $hit.they sponsored these people in libya to humiliate Qaddafi-not like am a fan of qaddafi either.in Syria,the americans are sending libyan mercenaries and alqaeda terrorists to destabilize syria and force a regime change under the false impression of revolution and riding the tide of the "arab spring".in afghanistan,they did the same thing using bin laden before he turned against them.

I agree with you here.

But why must everything end in violence.

Muslims keep screaming about how they love peace, tell me, is this how peace is practised.

As for terry jones and whoever is behind him,insulting the beliefs of muslims will do him no good or his country.he isn't going to get any positive result.when you insult Islam,you're not only insulting the acclaimed religion of those the US hate and the terrorists who do not represent Islam.but he is also insulting the religion of all muslims regardless of their affiliations and point of views.

I doubt if we have any fans of Terry on Nairaland.

Anyway , we are on the same side, these are all Wahhabis

vedaxcool: @frosbel

Clearly this is a sad incident, killing someone for a crime he did not commit without even following due process.

Was any crime committed in the first instance What is it about the islamic religion that makes it's adherents resort to violence and kill innocent souls at the slightest provocation?

frosbel:

I agree with you here.

But why must everything end in violence.

Muslims keep screaming about how they love peace, tell me, is this how peace is practised.





I doubt if we have any fans of Terry on Nairaland.

Anyway , we are on the same side, these are all Wahhabis

You should ask hilary clinton.she was the one laughing and celebrating live on camera when she received the news of qaddafi's assasination.the US supported violating libya's sovereignty and spreading chaos.now they're reaping what they sowed.

The fact is the US always use the salafist/wahhabi terrorists,whether in afghanistan against the soviets,in syria against bashar al-assad or in libya.the ideology of salafism/wahhabism supports violence and killing,in no way justified in the Quran.whether for sectarian violence to kill fellow muslims or to do america's dirty jobs,these people have being useful to the US.the hypocrisy comes in,when these same people turn against the US,everyone blames Islam.its really ridiculous-an amusing case of killing two birds with one stone!

LagosShia:

You should as hilary clinton.she was the one laughing and celebrating live on camera when she received the news of qaddafi's assasination.the US supported violating libya's sovereignty and spreading chaos.now they're reaping what they sowed.

The fact is the US always use the salafists/wahhabi terrorists,whether in afghanistan against the soviets,in syria against bashar al-assad or in libya.the ideology of salafism/wahhabism supports violence and killing,in no way justified in the Quran.whether for sectarian violence to kill fellow muslims or to do america's dirty jobs,these people have being useful to the US.the hypocrisy comes in,when these same people turn against the US,everyone blames Islam.its really ridiculous-an amusing case of killing two birds with one stone!

Which is why I do not understand why they fight each other but yet are also 'in bed' with each other.

Something does not look or sound right ?

frosbel:


Which is why I do not understand why they fight each other but yet are also 'in bed' with each other.

Something does not look or sound right ?

Perhaps a typical case of two beasts teaming up to capture a prey and then fighting each other on what to do with it or how to share it.