Officials confirmed the killing of the Libyan Ambassador in a rocket attack, last night

Sep 12, 2012 16:21 GMT  ·  By

The U.S. Ambassador to Libya, along with 3 other members of the embassy staff, were killed last night in the city of Benghazi while trying to escape armed protesters.

The ChicagoTribune reports that protests in Lybia escalated, protesters attacking the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last night.

"The American ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them," Libyan officials stated.

Gunmen started heavy fire over officials in the Benghazi compound. Other attackers threw handmade bombs that caused fires and small explosions.

The ambassador and his staff were being transported outside the compound when rocket-propelled grenades were thrown at the embassy vehicle.

"The Libyan security forces came under heavy fire and we were not prepared for the intensity of the attack," representatives of the embassy said.

The death of 52-year-old ambassador Chris Stevens was confirmed this morning. The protests follow the release of a movie considered to be offensive to the Prophet Mohammad.

According to the Telegraph, the film in question is the "Innocence of Muslims,” produced by property developer Sam Bacile.

The film had a budget of £3.3 million ($5,3 million) and mainly received funding from Jewish donors, Bacile himself being an Israeli Jew. It was first dubbed in Arabic last week, and has been posted on several websites since.

Bacile is currently in hiding. "Islam is a cancer, period," he said in response to recent threats.

Muslim extremists felt his movie ridiculed and insulted the Prophet Mohammad, describing him as a philanderer and casting a shadow of doubt over his religious beliefs and his integrity.

In neighboring Egipt, some 2000 Muslim protesters breached the compounds of the US embassy in Cairo, some climbing the walls of the embassy and burning the American flag.

Even though this happened a few hours before the protests in Libya, the U.S. State Department is not commenting on the link between these two incidents.

This is the first time a US ambassador is assassinated since 1979. Many believe this to be a celebration of the crimes of September 11, 2001, as the movie has first been released in July. They see the protests happening on the 11th anniversary of 911 as no coincidence.

Check out the trailer for this controversial movie below.