US ambassador to Libya killed by frenzied mob

The US ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staff were killed on Wednesday, as a mob armed with guns and rockets stormed the American consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, angry over a film deemed offensive to Islam.

Christopher Stevens and three consulate staff were killed when the envoy went to the consulate as a frenzied mob stormed the premises and ran over the facility setting it ablaze, Libyan and US officials said.

The attack on the consulate came hours after protesters attacked the US embassy in Cairo, tearing down the Star and Stripes and hoisting a black one that read, 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his messenger.' 

Media reports warned of more such protests erupting in Egypt, as the ruling Muslim Brotherhood called for a nationwide protest against the film ridiculing Mohammad.

Describing the attack as 'outrageous', President Barack Obama ordered stepping up of security in US diplomatic posts all over the globe. 'I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens,' Obama said in a statement released by the White House in the first official confirmation about the death of the ambassador in Libya.

Stevens was a career diplomat who spoke Arabic and French and had served two terms in Libya, including running the Benghazi office during the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi.

Libyan officials said Stevens was killed when he went to the consulate to evacuate the staff besieged by the frenzied mob.