US ambassador ‘killed in Libya’

Ambassador Christopher Stevens is said to be among four US officials killed in a protest over a US-produced film that is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad.

Libyan deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagur announced that Stevens was killed in yesterday's attack on the US mission in Benghazi. "I do condemn the cowardly act of attacking the US consulate and the killing of Mr Stevens and the other diplomats," he said on Twitter.

Interior minister Fawzi Abdelal has also confirmed the death. It was reported in Benghazi that the ambassador suffocated from smoke fumes when the building caught fire.

Stevens had gone to Benghazi for a meeting earlier in the day with AGOCO, the oil company. There are unconfirmed reports that more than one other US diplomat also died in the attack.

The US state department has only confirmed the death of one official - but it has not named them. Protesters have also attacked the US embassy in Cairo over the film.

In the attack in Benghazi, unidentified armed men stormed the grounds, shooting at buildings and throwing handmade bombs into the compound.  Security forces returned fire but Libyan officials say they were overwhelmed.

A Libyan official has said Ambassador Stevens died from suffocation as a result of the attack.

In a statement earlier, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed the death of a US official, saying: "We are heartbroken by this terrible loss".

"Some have sought to justify this vicious behaviour as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet," she said in a statement.

"The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind."

The film that sparked the demonstration is said to have been produced by a 52-year-old US citizen from California named Sam Bacile, and promoted by an expatriate Egyptian Copt. The two men are described as having anti-Islamic views.