U.S. diplomat killed in Libya attack

Protesters angered over a film that ridiculed Islam's Prophet Muhammad fired gunshots and burned down the U.S. Consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi Tuesday, killing one American diplomat, witnesses and the State Department said. In Egypt, protesters breached the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and replaced an American flag with an Islamic banner.

A State Department officer was killed in the protest at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton confirmed. She strongly condemned the attack and said she had called Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif "to coordinate additional support to protect Americans in Libya."

It was the first such assaults on U.S. diplomatic sites in either country, at a time when Libya and Egypt are struggling to overcome the turmoil following the ouster of leaders Moammar Gadhafi and Hosni Mubarak.

The protests in both countries were sparked by outrage over a film ridiculing Muhammad as a philanderer who approved of child sexual abuse. The movie was directed by an American in California and is being promoted by an Egyptian Christian in the United States who has been called an anti-Islam extremist. Excerpts dubbed in Arabic were posted on YouTube. Muslims find it offensive to depict Muhammad in any fashion.

Clinton said, "The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. . . . But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind."

In Benghazi, a mob stormed and fired at the U.S. Consulate, said Wanis al-Sharef, a Libyan official. One American was wounded in the hand, he said. Outnumbering the Libyan forces, the crowd burned most of the facility and looted it, witnesses said.

Earlier, hundreds of mainly ultraconservative Islamist protesters marched to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. Most of the embassy staff had left the compound. Dozens of protesters scaled the embassy walls, and several went into the courtyard and took down the American flag. In the evening, protesters continued to climb and stand on the wall.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry vowed in a statement to provide the necessary security for diplomatic missions and embassies.

A State Department spokeswoman said Egyptian police removed the demonstrators who entered the compound.

Meanwhile, Sam Bacile, who said he directed and wrote the movie, has gone into hiding since the U.S. mission attacks. Speaking by phone Tuesday, Bacile, 56, who identifies himself as an Israeli Jew, said he wanted his film to make a political statement. He said he's sorry for the death but blamed lax security.