Protesters attack U. S. missions

American staffer dies in protests over depiction of Mohammad

CAIRO/ BENGHAZI, Libya — Protesters in Egypt and Libya attacked U. S. diplomatic missions on Tuesday, leading to the death of an American staffer at the consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi after fierce clashes at the compound, a Libyan official said.

“One American staff member has died and a number have been injured in the clashes,” Abdel- Monem Al- Hurr, spokesman for Libya’s Supreme Security Committee, said, adding he did not know the exact number of injured or what the cause of death was.

The violence in Benghazi followed protests in neighbouring Egypt where protesters scaled the walls of the Cairo embassy and tore down the American flag and burned it during protests over what demonstrators said was a U. S. film that insulted the Prophet Mohammad.

On Tuesday, Egypt’s prestigious Al- Azhar mosque and seat of Sunni learning condemned a symbolic “trial” of the Prophet organized by a U. S. group including Terry Jones, a Christian pastor who triggered riots in Afghanistan in 2010 by threatening to burn the Qur’an.

On Tuesday’s anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Jones said he had released a video promoting a film that portrayed the Prophet in a “satirical” manner. Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet offensive.

Gunmen in Benghazi attacked the compound on Tuesday evening, clashing with Libyan security forces, officials said.

The U. S. State Department did not refer to any deaths, but said in a statement: “We can confirm that our office in Benghazi, Libya, has been attacked by a group of militants. We are working with the Libyans now to secure the compound. We condemn in strongest terms this attack on our diplomatic mission.”

Once the U. S. flag was hauled down in Cairo, some protesters tore it up and displayed bits to television cameras. Others burned the remnants outside the fortress- like embassy building in central Cairo. But some protesters objected to the flag burning.

In Benghazi, looters raided the empty U. S. consulate’s compound.