U.S. EMBASSY IN LIBYA ATTACKED: Ambassador killed

The United States Ambassador to Libya John Christopher Stevens and four staff members of the embassy were killed in attacks on the Benghazi consulate on Tuesday night, the White House confirmed. The Libyan government has also said that an undisclosed number of Libyan security officers also died in the attack. Ambassador Stevens died from “injuries sustained in the attack” according to a press release from the US State Department.
Unidentified gunmen stormed the US consulate in Benghazi, opening fire on the compound and throwing handmade bombs. Libyan security personnel reportedly engaged the gunmen but had to withdraw when they were outmatched.
According to CNN, senior officials in the US government have said that the military has deployed drones looking for jihadi encampments in Benghazi and other parts of eastern Libya Wednesday night, as suspicions that Al-Qaeda linked groups may have had a hand in Tuesday’s attacks.
“I have directed my administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in Libya, and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe,” said US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, “While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants.”
The attack in Benghazi came after thousands of protesters gathered in front of the US embassy in Cairo in response to a film insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Those demonstrating demanded the revoking of Egyptian citizenship by those involved in the making of the film and an apology from the US government.
The protest coincided with an already planned Salafi protest at the embassy on 11 September to demand the release of Omar Abdel Rahman.

Demonstrators in Cairo scaled the walls of the embassy in Garden City Tuesday night, tore the US flag, and raised a black flag favoured by Islamist groups. Protests continued in Garden City throughout Wednesday.