Report: Al-qaeda not behind Benghazi attack

WASHINGTON: US intelligence agencies have found no evidence that last month’s deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was ordered by al-Qaeda, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Citing US officials and witnesses, the newspaper said the attack, which killed ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, was “carried out following a minimum amount of planning”.

“The attackers exhibited a high degree of disorganisation,” the paper quotes one of the intelligence officials as saying.

“Some joined the attack in progress, some did not have weapons and others just seemed interested in looting.”

According to another official, “There isn’t any intelligence that the attackers pre-planned their assault days or weeks in advance.”

Most of the evidence suggested that “the attackers launched their assault opportunistically” after learning about the violence at the US Embassy in Cairo, The Times quotes the official as saying.

Top Republicans have said President Barack Obama’s administration is reluctant to acknowledge the incident was an act of terrorism for political reasons.

But after five weeks of investigation, US intelligence agencies say they have found no evidence of alQaeda participation. — AFP