Libya Attack Was Planned: Report

US may send drones to look for militants responsible, anonymous officials say
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 12, 2012 12:04 PM CDT
Updated Sep 12, 2012 2:24 PM CDT
Embassy Attack Was Planned: Report
Debris and overturned furniture are strewn inside a room in the gutted US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sept. 12, 2012.   (AP Photo/Ibrahim Alaguri)

The attack on the US consulate in Libya that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens wasn't the spontaneous act of violence it initially appeared to be—it was planned. Or at least, that's what the Obama administration suspects. Whereas yesterday's riots in Egypt appeared spontaneous, attackers in Libya showed up with mortars and rocket-propelled-grenades, officials tell the New York Times, though they're not sure yet if those people organized the riot or merely took advantage. But sources tell CNN that they don't believe Stevens was specifically targeted.

Stevens died of smoke inhalation, a Libyan doctor tells the AP. A US official says the building caught fire when someone threw a grenade. Employees "were fighting the fire inside and the attackers outside," the official tells CNN, adding that there were "valiant but unsuccessful" attempts to go back and save people. In a brief statement today, President Obama vowed that "justice will be done," the AP reports. He didn't elaborate on what that might mean, but a senior official says that the White House is expected to approve a plan to send spy drones to look for jihadi camps near Benghazi that may have been involved in the attack. (More US Embassy stories.)

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