Reuters /Esam al-Fetori

The US Ambassador to Libya John Christopher Stevens and three other employees of the diplomatic mission were killed in the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, an unnamed senior Libyan official told Reuters. According to him, the diplomats were killed when a missile hit their car. This happened when all four were trying to leave the consulate after the attack began. According to the agency's source, the embassy sent a military plane to pick up the bodies of the victims, and they will be transported to Tripoli. Several hours later, the White House confirmed the ambassador's death, AP reports.

President Barack Obama called the slain diplomat "a courageous and exemplary representative of American interests" who "selflessly served his country and the Libyan people" during the revolution and supported "Libya's transition to democracy." He added that he was grateful for Stevens' service and deeply saddened by his death.

John Christopher Stevens was appointed ambassador to Tripoli in May 2012, The Washington Post reports. Before that, he worked in Libya for several years, before and after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi's regime. He was considered a specialist in Middle East affairs at the State Department.

The attack on the consulate in Benghazi took place on Tuesday evening. Militants fired at the building, threw homemade shells at it, and started a fire. Earlier it was reported that one State Department employee was killed in the attack, and another US citizen was wounded in the arm. On Wednesday, Reuters first reported that the ambassador had died. A little later, information about the diplomat’s death appeared in many media outlets, citing representatives of the Libyan government. Among those who confirmed this information were Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagur, Deputy Interior Minister of Eastern Libya Wanis Al-Sharaf, Benghazi Security Chief Abdel-Basit Haroun, and Benghazi City Council representative Ahmed Businia. Data on the total number of American casualties varies. For example, a high-ranking American source for ABC News reported the death of two US citizens in Benghazi. According to him, the State Department employee most likely died from smoke inhalation. The death of the second American was confirmed only on Wednesday. It was not clear how he died. On Tuesday evening, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed the death of only one of her subordinates and called it a "horrible loss". "There have been attempts to justify this misconduct as a response to inflammatory material that was circulated online," she said. "The United States deplores any deliberate attempt to offend religious sensibilities. But we must be clear: There can be no justification for violent attacks of this nature."

Also on Tuesday evening, a protest took place outside the US embassy in Cairo, with protesters breaking into the embassy, tearing down the US flag, which was lowered as a sign of mourning, and burning it. Both attacks and protests are linked to the appearance on the Internet of a trailer for the US-made film "Innocence of Muslims," which Muslims considered an insult to the Prophet Muhammad. The film was promoted by the famous American pastor Terry Jones, who in 2011 publicly burned the Koran, thereby provoking a wave of unrest in Afghanistan.

The film's creator, Israeli-American developer Sam Basile, told The Wall Street Journal that he intended to show that Islam is a hateful religion. Scenes from the trailer portray the prophet in a negative light. Basile said he made the film with $5 million raised from hundreds of Jewish donors.

US Ambassador Killed in Libya