US ambassador killed in Benghazi rocket attack

Demonstrators fired shots in the air before entering the building An American staff member of the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi has died following fierce clashes at the compound, Libyan security sources said. An armed mob attacked and set fire to the building in what they say was a protest against an amateur film deemed offensive to Islam's Prophet Muhammad, after similar protests in Egypt's capital.
"One American staff member has died and a number have been injured in the clashes," Abdelmonem al-Hurr, spokesman for Libya's Supreme Security Committee, said on Wednesday, adding that rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the building from a nearby farm.
"There are fierce clashes between the Libyan army and an armed militia outside the US consulate," he said. He also said roads had been closed off and security forces were surrounding the building.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, in a statement, condemned the attack in Benghazi.
"We can confirm that our office in Benghazi, Libya, has been attacked by a group of militants. We condemn in strongest terms this attack on our diplomatic mission."
Egyptian protesters took down the American flag from the embassy's walls during a demonstration held to protest a short film produced by US based Coptic-Christians. Citics say this film demeans Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. A number of protesters managed to climb on top of the walls surrounding the embassy, while others were able to breach the embassy's garden, where they removed an American flag and replaced it with another one bearing the Islamic declaration of faith: "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the Prophet of Allah."
The Ultras White Knights — hardcore football firm — claimed that members of their group had brought down the US flag and are planning additional rallies to protest the film.
US embassy spokesman David Linfield confirmed that protesters had been able to enter the embassy and remove the flag. He went on to deny rumours, however, that shots had been fired at demonstrators or that anyone had been injured or killed.
Protesters carried signs condemning the alleged insults to Prophet Mohammed, while others vowed vengeance. Some protesters demanded the embassy's closure.
"Obama, Obama there are still a billion Osamas," they chanted in reference to slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Other protesters wrote: "There is no God but Allah and Mohamed is the Prophet of Allah" on the embassy's main gate, obscuring the sign reading "Embassy of the United States." At one point, the Egyptian Army intervened, surrounding the embassy grounds in an effort to pacify the situation.
The controversial film is reportedly being produced by US-based Coptic-Christian Egyptians, including Esmat Zaklama and Maurice Sadeq. Maurice Sadeq, a Coptic lawyer based in the US, announced earlier this week that the US-based High Authority of the Coptic State would broadcast the 13-minute film on Tuesday to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington.
Various local churches in Egypt have condemned the film in recent days, asserting that those responsible for it were merely carrying out their own agendas and did not represent Egypt's Christian community.
In the statement made on Tuesday, the US embassy condemned the "ongoing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the feelings of Muslims" and the continued attacks on the religious beliefs of others under the guise of "freedom of expression."
Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church and Evangelical Church, meanwhile, both released statements on Monday condemning the film, stressing that it did not represent Egypt's Christian community.
Fadi Yousef, a member of the Egyptian Coptic Coalition, demanded that those responsible for producing the film be put on trial, describing the film's content as "offensive to all Egyptians." While about 120 Coptic organisations around the world issued a statement urging the US authorities to ban the movie.
Egyptian activist Wael Ghoneim wrote on his Facebook page that "attacking the US embassy on September 11 and raising flags linked to Al-Qaeda will not be understood by the American public as a protest over the film about the prophet. Instead, it will be received as a celebration of the crime that took place on September 11," he said.
Americans the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks yesterday, in which nearly thousands were killed when hijacked airliners crashed into the Pentagon and New York's World Trade Centre, and another was brought down in Pennsylvania. The US Department of the State played down the significance of the protest that took place in front of its embassy in Cairo, saying that this protest doesn't reflect the current development in the relations between Egypt and the US, especially as Egypt has just received a 117-person business delegation from the US to discuss the investment opportunities in the Middle Eastern country.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Tuesday in reaction to the protests. The ministry stressed the importance of protecting all embassies and diplomatic envoys in Egypt, as well as foreigners working in the country, adding that Egypt expects its envoys to receive similar treatment abroad. The Vienna Convention, which Egypt was one of the first states to sign in 1961, obliges Egypt to protect embassies and provide them with security, the statement added.
The statement also stressed that Egypt has been exerting effort to prove to the world that its transition period is coming to end and that it has once again become a safe country, adding that such incidents negatively affect the image of the country, harming different sectors as well as citizens.