US mission in Benghazi was CIA operation, report says
A room in the US consulate building in Benghazi after the September 11, 2012 attack
Fri Nov 2, 2012 9:50AM GMT
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The US mission in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi that came under attack in September was mainly a secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operation, a report says.
The Wall Street Journal said in a report on Friday that of the 30 US officials evacuated from Benghazi after the attack, only seven worked for the State Department, highlighting that the mission was mainly a CIA operation.
The report added that the two security contractors who were killed in the incident -- former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty -- were working for the CIA and not the State Department.
On September 11, clashes broke out at the US consulate in Benghazi after a group of people held a demonstration against a blasphemous movie produced in the US which insulted Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other staff members were killed in the incident.
According to the Wall Street Journal, CIA Director David Petraeus did not attend the ceremony held for the arrival of the coffins of the victims in the US allegedly to hide the CIA operation.
MR/HSN