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Film fury: US embassies in Yemen, Egypt attacked

Sanaa/Cairo, September 13
Demonstrators attacked the US Embassies in Yemen and Egypt today in protest at a film they consider blasphemous to Islam, and American warships headed to Libya after the US ambassador there died in related violence earlier this week.

Hundreds of Yemenis broke through the main gate of the heavily fortified compound in the capital Sanaa, shouting "We sacrifice ourselves for you, Messenger of God". They smashed windows of security offices outside the embassy and burned cars.

"We can see a fire inside the compound and security forces are firing in the air. The demonstrators are fleeing and then charging back," a witness said.

A security source said at least 15 persons were wounded, some by gunfire, before the Yemen Government ringed the area with troops. An embassy spokesman said its personnel were safe.

In Egypt, protesters hurled stones at a police cordon around the US Embassy in central Cairo after climbing into the embassy compound and tearing down the American flag. The state news agency said 13 persons were hurt in violence which erupted late on Wednesday, following initial protests on Tuesday.

The US military also dispatched a Marine Corps anti-terrorist team to boost security in Libya. The US military moved two destroyers towards the Libyan coast, in what an official said was a move to give the administration flexibility for any future action against Libyan targets.

During a similar protest on Tuesday at the US consulate in Benghazi, Libyan Islamists staged military-style assaults on the mission and a safe house refuge. It was the 11th anniversary of Al-Qaida's attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.

President Barack Obama vowed to "bring to justice" those responsible for the Benghazi attack, which US officials said may have been planned in advance. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington had nothing to do with the video, which she called "disgusting and reprehensible". — Reuters 

YouTube restricts viewing of controversial film

Washington: A day after the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, video-sharing website YouTube on Thursday said it had restricted access to the film both in Libya and Egypt. "This video — which is widely available on the Web -- is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube," a spokesman said.

US probes whether Benghazi attack was planned

Washington/Cairo: The US is probing whether the deadly attack on its mission in Libya was a well-planned assault by Islamists rather than a rampage by a frenzied mob, officials said on Thursday. Still scrambling to unravel the facts about the killing of its ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Embassy staff almost 24 hours after the incident, the US officials said the attack was "complex" and "they (attackers) seem to have used this (protest) as an opportunity".