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September 11 2012 U.S. diplomatic missions attacks
Location	Cairo, Egypt Benghazi, Libya
Date	11 September 2012
Attack type	Shootings and raids
Weapons	?(Egypt) RPG (Libya)
Deaths	4
Injured	2
Perpetrators	Salafists (Egypt) Islamic Law Supporters (Libya)

In Egypt and Libya, mobs attacks the U.S. embassy and consulate, respectively, in protests against the film Innocence of Muslims that was deemed to have hurt Muslim sentiments for desecrating the Prophet Mohammed. In Cairo, Egypt, the mob scaled the embassy wall and tore down the flag of the United States of America and replaced it with a black Islamist flag. In Benghazi, Libya, RPGs were fired at the consulate from a nearby far result in the death of the visiting Ambassador Christopher Stevens from smoke inhalation, two of his security personnel, another unknown staff member and injuries to two others.

Background

As part of the Arab Spring, protests led to the 2011 Egyptian revolution that toppled the government of Hosni Mubarak. Amid the uncertainty of a new government there was also an attack on the 2011 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Egypt. Similarly, protests in Libya, which started in Benghazi, led to the Libyan civil war that ousted the government of Muammar Gaddafi. Unlike in Egypt, however, the institutional structures of state in Libya were effectively abolished with a power vaccuum that resulted in numerous attacks in and around the country amidst general lawlessness.

The protests in both Egypt and Libya were triggered by a two-hour flim Innocence of Muslims by Israeli filmmaker Sam Bacile. It was also promoted by Coptic Egyptian Morris Sadek, who had his Egyptian citizenship revoked earlier for promoting calls for an attack on Egypt. According to Bacile, the movie was produced in English, but he did not know who dubbed it in Arabic. He also said that the movie was intended to help Israel by exposing Islam's flaws and that his "plan is to make a series of 200 hours" on the same subject. Though the film had not been shown in its entirety, Bacile also said he had declined distribution offers for the time being. The film cost US$5m to make, which was financed by over 100 Jewish donors, according to Bacile. Sadek also said he had promoted the movie on his website and television stations which he did not name.

Attacks

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2011)

Egypt

Libya

Reactions

Sam Bacile later went into hiding. He then told the Associated Press from an undisclosed locationg that he had not changed his stance that Islam was "a cancer" and that the movie was intended to be a provocative political statement. However, he added that he had not anticipated such a reaction and said: "I feel sorry for the embassy. I am mad."

Egyptian activist Wael Ghoneim wrote on his Facebook page that "attacking the US embassy on September 11 and raising flags linked to al-Qaeda will not be understood by the American public as a protest over the film about the prophet. Instead, it will be received as a celebration of the crime that took place on September 11."

•  United States of America - Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said: "Some have sought to justify this vicious behaviour as a response to inflammatory material posted on the internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others."

An unnamed state department official said in reaction to speculation that the U.S. flag was replaced by Al Qaeda's flag that "we had some people breach the wall, take the flag down and replace it. What I heard was that it was replaced with a plain black flag. But I may be not be correct in that." Another unnamed "senior" state department official said: "In Cairo, we can confirm that Egyptian police have now removed the demonstrators who had entered our embassy grounds earlier today," though he said that a connection with the Libyan incident could not be affirmed.

References

1. ^ "US envoy dies in Benghazi consulate attack". Al Jazeera English. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.

• Use dmy dates from September 2012
• Aftermath of the Libyan Civil War
• Islamism