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This is an archive article published on October 25, 2012
US knew of militant claim two hours after Benghazi attack
Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after attackers assaulted the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi last month that an Islamic militant group had claimed credit for the attack,official emails show
Written by Reuters
Washington | October 25, 2012 12:43 AM IST
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Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after attackers assaulted the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi last month that an Islamic militant group had claimed credit for the attack,official emails show.
One of the emails specifically mentions that the Libyan group called Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks. The brief emails also show how US diplomats described the attack,even as it was still under way,to Washington. US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three citizens were killed in the Benghazi assault.
The records consist of three emails dispatched by the State Departments Operations Center to multiple government offices,including addresses at the White House,Pentagon,intelligence community and FBI,on the afternoon of September 11.
The first email timed 20-30 minutes after the attack began carried the subject line US Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack. It stated,the State Departments regional security office had reported that the diplomatic mission in Benghazi was under attack. A second email said that the Embassy in Tripoli had reported that the firing had stopped and the compound had been cleared.
A third email carried the subject line: Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack. It stated: Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli.
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