US Diplomatic Missions under attack, Ambassador to Libya killed

Unidentified armed men stormed the grounds on the United States Embassy on Tuesday night in a protest over a US-produced film that is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad. Meanwhile, Protesters also attacked the US embassy in Cairo over the film. No embassy personnel were injured in the Cairo incident, the State Department said.

The US Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, is among four Americans killed in an attack on the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, President Barack Obama has confirmed. "I condemn in the strongest terms the attack on our mission in Benghazi," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement.

Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, is profoundly saddened by the tragic and senseless deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, including Ambassador Chris Stevens and Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith. She reminded that "Ambassador Stevens and the rest of his team risked their lives daily to support the Libyan people's democratic aspirations, including during the height of the revolution, when he represented the United States in Benghazi."

"I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi," Republican nominee Mitt Romney said. "It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks," he added.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen strongly condemns the attack on the US mission in Benghazi which led to the tragic loss of four Americans, including the Ambassador. "Such violence can never be justified. I offer my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives and my thoughts are with those who are injured," he said. Also, he welcomes the Libyan President 's condemnation and condolences and his pledge of his government's full cooperation. "It is important that the new Libya continues to move towards a peaceful, secure and democratic future," Mr Rasmussen added.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Republican of Florida who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said via Twitter the armed men who stormed the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and who perpetrated awful attack must be held accountable. She asked "Why did Admin apologize after attack against U.S. Embassy in Cairo?" Egyptian gov needs to take responsibility, she added. Three hours later, the feed says that the Obama "Administration must move quickly to bring justice to the senseless murder of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya,"

US Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) "are anguished and outraged by the death of four citizens of the United States, including Ambassador Chris Stevens," a statement said. They stressed that "here is still much we do not know about what happened in Benghazi yesterday," and warned that "we cannot give in to the temptation to believe that our support for the democratic aspirations of people in Libya, Egypt, and elsewhere in the broader Middle East is naive or mistaken."

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton calls on "Libya to take all necessary measures without delay to protect the lives of all diplomats and foreign staff working in Libya" and "urges the Libyan authorities to work tirelessly to bring those responsible for these killings to justice."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said there is no justification for the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi in which several officials were killed.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle condemns attacks on US missions in the strongest possible terms and "urges the Egyptian and Libyan Governments to fully guarantee the security of embassies and consulates in their countries."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia expressed its deep concern about the events in Cairo, and, especially in Benghazi, which led to the tragic death of four US diplomats. It condemns the attacks on foreign diplomatic missions and their staff as unjustifiable acts of terrorism.

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