An American member of staff at the US consulate in Benghazi has died following fierce clashes at the compound, two Libyan security sources said on Wednesday. "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 that he did not know the exact number of injured.
Gunmen attacked the compound in the eastern city on Tuesday evening, clashing with Libyan security forces before the latter withdrew as they came under heavy fire. Reuters reporters on the scene saw looters raiding the compound, walking off with desks, chairs and washing machines. A security official said a fire was burning inside the consulate and that staff had been evacuated. Three injured members of the Libyan security forces taken away in an ambulance. The gunmen formed part of a group protesting against a US film they say is blasphemous.
The incident followed a protest in Egypt where demonstrators scaled the walls of the US embassy, tore down the American flag and burned it during a protest over the same film, which attacks Islam's prophet, Muhammad. The film, clips of which are available on YouTube, depicts Muhammad as a fraud, showing him having sex and calling for massacres. Muslims find it offensive to depict Muhammad in any fashion, much less in an insulting way.