The US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, has died from smoke inhalation in an attack on the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, the country's interior ministry and security sources have said. It was not clear if the ambassador was in his car or the Libyan consulate when the attack occurred.
Meanwhile, a Libyan official has said Ambassador Stevens died from suffocation as a result of the attack. Reuters reporters on the scene saw looters raiding the compound, walking off with desks, chairs and washing machines. "The Libyan ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them," the official in Benghazi said.
In a statement earlier, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed the death of a US official, saying: "We are heartbroken by this terrible loss". Mustafa Abu Shagur, the Libyan deputy prime minister, condemned the "cowardly act of attacking the US consulate and the killing of [the ambassador] and the other diplomats".
The protests in both countries were sparked by a film ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad produced by an American-Israeli in California and promoted by an extreme anti-Muslim Egyptian Christian campaigner in the United States.
The black flag, which hangs in full view from inside the complex, is adorned with white characters that read, "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger," an emblem often used by Islamic radicals.
The film that sparked the demonstration is said to have been produced by a 52-year-old US citizen from California named Sam Bacile, and promoted by an expatriate Egyptian Copt. "This movie must be banned immediately and an apology should be made," said the 19-year-old Mahmoud, a member of the "ultras" soccer supporters who played a big role in the uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak last year.
Americans on Tuesday marked the 11th anniversary of the September 11, attacks in which nearly thousands were killed when hijacked airliners crashed into the Pentagon and New York's World Trade Center, and another was brought down in Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, a Libyan official has said Ambassador Stevens died from suffocation as a result of the attack. Reuters reporters on the scene saw looters raiding the compound, walking off with desks, chairs and washing machines. "The Libyan ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them," the official in Benghazi said.
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| The US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, has died from smoke inhalation in an attack on the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi |
In a statement earlier, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed the death of a US official, saying: "We are heartbroken by this terrible loss". Mustafa Abu Shagur, the Libyan deputy prime minister, condemned the "cowardly act of attacking the US consulate and the killing of [the ambassador] and the other diplomats".
The protests in both countries were sparked by a film ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad produced by an American-Israeli in California and promoted by an extreme anti-Muslim Egyptian Christian campaigner in the United States.
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| In Cairo, several men scaled the walls of the U.S. Embassy and tore down its American flag. |
The black flag, which hangs in full view from inside the complex, is adorned with white characters that read, "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger," an emblem often used by Islamic radicals.
The film that sparked the demonstration is said to have been produced by a 52-year-old US citizen from California named Sam Bacile, and promoted by an expatriate Egyptian Copt. "This movie must be banned immediately and an apology should be made," said the 19-year-old Mahmoud, a member of the "ultras" soccer supporters who played a big role in the uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak last year.
Americans on Tuesday marked the 11th anniversary of the September 11, attacks in which nearly thousands were killed when hijacked airliners crashed into the Pentagon and New York's World Trade Center, and another was brought down in Pennsylvania.
