Egypt security forces, protesters clash outside US Embassy

Protesters destroy an American flag pulled down from the U.S. embassy in Cairo September 11, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

CAIRO (Reuters) - Security forces fired teargas to disperse stone-throwing demonstrators near the U.S. embassy in Cairo late on Wednesday, some 24 hours after protesters scaled the walls and tore down the flag over a film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

State news agency MENA said some of those present had been injured, but gave no further details.

Live television showed hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the embassy, where late on Tuesday around 2,000 protested outside after some illegally entered the compound, ripped down the flag and burned it.

Washington has a big mission in Egypt, partly because of a huge aid programme that followed Egypt's signing of a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The United States gives $1.3 billion to Egypt's military each year and offers the nation other aid.

Clashes between security forces and protesters continued in side streets near the building into the early hours of Thursday. Reuters witnesses saw protesters carrying petrol bombs and saw smoke billowing from one of the streets leading to the embassy.

MENA said earlier Egypt had arrested four people after Tuesday's demonstration in which protesters blamed the film on the United States.

It said the four people were transferred to the prosecutor's office, adding that security forces were still searching for others who scaled the walls of the U.S. mission.

Report: US military attack on Iran would shake regime but also risk all-out Mideast war

WASHINGTON - An assessment of the costs and benefits of attacking Iran says U.S. military strikes probably would trigger Iranian retaliation that carried risks of igniting all-out war in the Middle East.

The report by former government officials, national security experts and retired military officers says U.S. attacks would shake the Iranian regime's political control and damage its ability to launch counterstrikes.

But it says the Iranians probably would manage to retaliate, directly and through surrogates.

The assessment is to be released publicly on Thursday. An advance copy was provided to The Associated Press.

U.S. ambassador killed after chaotic, hours-long siege

By Olivier Knox, Yahoo! News | The Ticket – 8 hrs ago

The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during an attack by as-yet unidentified assailants. (Esam Al- …Gunfire, a burning building, "heavy, dark smoke" that separated Chris Stevens, the late U.S. ambassador to Libya, from a security officer: American officials painted a harrowing picture late Wednesday of the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that left the widely respected diplomat and three others dead. The officials, speaking to reporters on a conference call arranged by the State Department, shared what they readily acknowledged were incomplete details subject to change as a clearer picture emerges from the bloody raid.

The early details sketch out a chaotic situation in which apparently outgunned U.S. and Libyan security personnel fought for hours to retake the diplomatic compound in the eastern Libyan city from unknown gunmen and lost the ambassador. The account was provided to reporters on the condition that the officials giving it not be identified.

At about 10 p.m. local time in Benghazi, the compound housing the American diplomatic mission came under fire "from unidentified Libyan extremists," one of the officials said. Just 15 minutes later, the attackers had breached the perimeter and trained their fire on the main building, setting it ablaze.

Inside were Stevens, a regional security officer and Sean Smith, an information management officer with the State Department who was also killed. (Overall, the compound had about 25 to 30 people in it.)

"They became separated from each other due to the heavy, dark smoke while they were trying to evacuate the burning building," one official said. The security officer and others returned into the burning building to find the ambassador and Smith. "This was really quite a heroic effort."

"At that time, they found Sean. He was already dead, and they pulled him from the building," the official said. "They were unable, however, to locate Chris before they were driven from the building due to the heavy fire and smoke and the continuing small arms fire."

At 10:45 p.m., security personnel tried to retake the main building but were repelled. At 11:20 p.m., U.S. and Libyan security forces were able to retake the main building, evacuating personnel they found there to an annex. That annex came under fire at midnight, an onslaught that lasted two hours and claimed the lives of two more Americans and wounded another two. By 2:30 a.m., Libyan forces helped the Americans to take control.

"At some point in all of this—and frankly, we do not know when—we believe that Ambassador Stevens got out of the building and was taken to a hospital in Benghazi. We do not have any information what his condition was at that time. His body was later returned to U.S. personnel at the Benghazi airport," an official said. "I think it was already dawn in Libya."

"There are reports out there that I cannot confirm that he was brought to the hospital by Libyans who found him," the official said. "Obviously, he had to get there somehow. No Americans were responsible for that."

"We were not able to see him until his body was returned to us at the airport," an official said when asked to confirm whether Stevens died from smoke inhalation. "You can imagine that we will not be able to say anything about the cause of death until we've had a chance to perform an autopsy."

American authorities brought in a chartered aircraft from Tripoli to Benghazi to evacuate all of the Americans to Tripoli. From there, they were evacuated to Germany.

The officials repeatedly ducked questions about Stevens' security arrangements. And they offered no details about the protests that reportedly came before the attack.

But they disputed the notion that he was under-protected.

US officials say 2 warships moving toward Libya

Yemeni protesters storm U.S. embassy in Sanaa: witnesses

A vehicle burns at the U.S. embassy in Sanaa September 13, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

SANAA (Reuters) - Hundreds of Yemeni demonstrators stormed the U.S. embassy in Sanaa on Thursday in protest at a film they consider blasphemous to Islam, and security guards tried to hold them off by firing into the air, witnesses said.

Young protesters, shouting "we sacrifice ourselves for you, Messenger of God", smashed windows of the security offices outside the embassy with stones and burned at least five cars as they broke through the main gate of the heavily fortified compound in eastern Sanaa, the witnesses said.

"We can see a fire inside the compound and security forces are firing in the air. The demonstrators are fleeing and then charging back," one witness told Reuters.

A security source said at least 15 people were wounded, some from bullets and 12 people were arrested.

"Initial reports are that all embassy personnel are safe and accounted for," an embassy spokesman told Reuters by telephone as the clashes continued.

The attack followed Tuesday night's storming of the United States Consulate and a safe house in Benghazi, where the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other staff were killed. President Barack Obama said the perpetrators would be tracked down and ordered two destroyers to the Libyan coast.

Protesters also attacked the U.S. embassy in Egypt and there were fears demonstrations would spread to other countries in the Muslim world.

Demonstrators blamed the United States for the film depicting the Prophet Mohammad in terms seen as blasphemous by Muslims and which was condemned by Washington.

[Related: Egypt's Mursi condemns embassy attack, protesters clash]

Witnesses said security forces in Yemen made no effort to stop the demonstrators as they marched towards the embassy compound. Some held banners declaring 'God is Greatest', while others scaled the embassy gate as tires blazed outside.

The protesters threw stones and some smashed light bulbs and signs before attacking the security offices and the compound.

REPEATED ATTACKS

Security guards fired in the air to hold back the demonstrators before Yemeni police reinforcements arrived at the scene and used tear gas. Witnesses said dozens of youths later regrouped and tried to break into the compound from the back.

State news agency Saba said President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi condemned the attack and set up a committee to investigate, following reports security forces had failed to stop the demonstrators from reaching the compound.

[Related: Iraqi militia threatens U.S. interests over film]

Yemen, a key U.S. ally, is struggling against multiple challenges since mass protests forced long-serving President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down last year.

The United States, eager to help Yemen recover from the upheaval that put the state on the verge of collapse, has said it would provide $345 million in security, humanitarian and development assistance this year, over double last year's aid.

Yemen is home of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is viewed by Washington as the most dangerous branch of the militant network established by Osama bin Laden.

(Additional reporting by Sami Aboudi, editing by Philippa Fletcher)