Yemen, Iraq see new anti-American protests
SANAA, Yemen (AP) -- Yemen and Iraq are among the scenes of the latest anti-American protests to erupt over an anti-Islam film.
Hundreds of protesters angered by the film stormed the U.S. Embassy compound in Yemen's capital today and burned the American flag.
Yemen's president quickly apologized and vowed to track down the culprits.
In Iraq, several hundred Shiite hardliners protested in their Baghdad stronghold. The leader of an Iranian-backed Shiite militia is threatening anti-U.S. attacks.
In Iran, about 50 protesters shouted "Death to America" outside the Swiss Embassy, which looks after U.S. diplomatic interests there.
Protesters clashed today with police near the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. Although the protesters were able to reach the embassy Tuesday, police kept them away this time.
A Libyan official is saying today that the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans on Tuesday at the consulate in Benghazi was an organized operation by heavily-armed militants who used the protest against the film as a cover for their action.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today sharpened her criticism of the film that led to the protests. She says it is "disgusting and reprehensible" -- but that the U.S. would never stop Americans from expressing their views, and that it's no excuse for violence.
Protesters storm US Embassy in Yemen
SANAA, Yemen (AP) -- Protesters angered by an anti-Islam film have stormed the U.S. Embassy compound in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.
The protesters were on the embassy's grounds but did not enter the building housing the offices.
Before storming the embassy compound on Thursday, the demonstrators removed the embassy's sign on the outer wall and set tires ablaze. Once inside the compound, they brought down the U.S. flag and burned it.
Yemen is home to al-Qaida's most active branch and the United States is the main foreign supporter of the Yemeni government's counterterrorism campaign. The government on Tuesday announced that al-Qaida's No. 2 leader in Yemen was killed in an apparent U.S. airstrike, a major blow to the terror network.
Clinton calls anti-Islam video 'disgusting'
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is sharpening her criticism of an anti-Islam video that provoked protests in the Arab world.
Clinton says the film is "disgusting and reprehensible." She calls it a cynical attempt to offend people for their religious beliefs.
But Clinton says the U.S. would never stop Americans from expressing their views, no matter how distasteful. And she says the film is no justification for violence or attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel.
Clinton said Thursday the U.S. is monitoring protests in Yemen and elsewhere. She's urging countries to take steps to prevent protests escalating into violence.
AG says FBI has opened probe on Benghazi deaths
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General Eric Holder says the FBI has opened an investigation into the deaths of the four people killed in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
The attorney general made the comments in remarks prepared for delivery Thursday in Doha, Qatar. The attorney general is in the region this week for meetings with his foreign counterparts.
In Doha, the attorney general said the U.S. is committed to working with the Libyan government to seek justice for the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans at the consulate.
On Wednesday, a law enforcement official said the FBI was sending evidence teams to Libya.
US diplomats wounded in Libya treated in Germany
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The three diplomats injured in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya are being treated at an American military hospital in Germany and one of the two most seriously wounded is expected to leave the intensive care unit on Thursday.
A State Department status report obtained by The Associated Press says the third injured staffer is awake and alert at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center near the Ramstein Air Base, where 33 uninjured consulate personnel are staying and receiving military counseling. All were evacuated from Benghazi early Wednesday and arrived in Germany late that afternoon along with the remains of the four diplomats.
According to the report, the injured staffers "are doing relatively well" and most want to return to Libya.
US identifies anti-Muslim filmmaker
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A U.S. law enforcement official says a man named Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is behind the anti-Muslim film being blamed for mob attacks in Egypt, Libya and Yemen.
A man who calls himself Sam Bacile has said he created the film, but The Associated Press on Wednesday connected Nakoula to the Bacile persona.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
In an AP interview, Nakoula says he managed logistics for the company that produced the film, which mocked Muslims and the prophet Muhammad. He denies that he was Bacile.
The movie is implicated in inflaming mobs that attacked U.S. missions in Egypt, Libya and Yemen. The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed.
AP