The killing of U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, was a terrorist attack, the White House said Thursday.
Stevens and three other Americans died after gunmen attacked the U.S. consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi last Wednesday.
“It is self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack,” said White House press secretary, Jay Carney, according to the New York Times. “Our embassy was attacked violently, and the result was four deaths of American officials.”
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, William Burns, visited Libya Thursday. Libyan Foreign Minister Ashour Bin Khayyal apologized to Burns over the violence, saying that Stevens was a “friend of Libya,” according to Reuters.
“We do agree, Libyans and Americans, that it is absolutely essential and urgent to bring those responsible for this horrible tragedy to justice just as quickly as possible, and we’re determined to work together to ensure that that happens,” Burns said in Tripoli, according to the news agency.
The gunmen who stormed the consulate in Benghazi were among a crowd of angry protesters demonstrating against an amateurish video made in the United States, which negatively portrays Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Anti-American protests over the video have erupted across the world.
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