U.S. State Department officer killed in Libya

PanARMENIAN.Net - A U.S. State Department officer was killed in Benghazi, Libya after armed protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate there, furious about an amateur video allegedly produced in the U.S. that has been viewed as insulting to the Prophet Muhammad.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed American's death in a statement on Tuesday, Sept 11 evening. "Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet," Clinton said in the statement. "The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others."

The attack left much of the consulate burned, witnesses said, and came hours after demonstrators in Egypt climbed the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to protest the video.

In Benghazi, protesters from various groups joined together to pull down the American flag in the embassy's courtyard and tried to raise a black flag with the words: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger."

Once the U.S. flag was hauled down, protesters tore it up, with some showing off small pieces to television cameras. Then others burned pieces of the flag before riot police arrived. Most of the 2,000 in the crowd later left. Some reports said warning shots were fired.

The video, clips of which are online, shows a portrayal of the prophet having sex and calling for massacres, The Associated Press reported.