There have been lots of conflicting reports from different news organizations about what exactly happened in Benghazi on the night of 9/11 and the morning of 9/12. This Reuters piece is the best summary we’ve seen so far. Here are the main points:
1. The original mob at the consulate did not seem organized:
“A crowd gathered at dusk, about 7 p.m. (1700 GMT), chanting slogans against the film and angry at Washington’s failure to act against its promoters. At some point, shooting began, with some in the crowd thinking they were under fire from the consulate.”
2. The local militia let the crowd overrun the compound:
“There were definitely people from the security forces who let the attack happen because they were themselves offended by the film; they would absolutely put their loyalty to the Prophet over the consulate. The deaths and injuries and attacks are all nothing compared to insulting the Prophet.”
3. IT specialist Sean Smith died at the consulate and Ambassador Chris Stevens went missing:
“U.S. officials said the consulate’s perimeter was breached 15 minutes after the crowd tried to storm in at around 10 p.m. The main villa was set on fire, with three Americans inside – the ambassador, IT specialist Sean Smith and a security officer. … They found Sean. He was already dead. And they pulled him from the building. 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.”
4. 37 Americans escaped to a safe house … where the main fighting took place:
“Libyan officials said the surviving Americans withdrew to a safe house. It would be normal security procedure in countries like Libya for international personnel to have a secure, secret location prepared for just such an eventuality. … Captain Fathi al-Obeidi, commander of a special operations force for the February 17 Brigade, told Reuters that he took a call about 1:30 a.m. from Tripoli telling him that a helicopter was on its way from the capital’s Mitiga airport with a rescue squad of eight U.S. troops – he described them as marines. … Obeidi found four times as many Americans at the single-storey, fortified house as he had been told expect – 37, not just 10. So he did not have enough transport. Then, the villa came under massive attack.”
5. Two more Americans died in the firefight at the safe house:
“Two Americans, including one of the eight security personnel sent from Tripoli, were killed and several wounded.”
6. The attack at the safe house was definitely planned:
“There was little doubt in the minds of Libyans who experienced it that this was a well-organized assault by men who had mastered the complexities of military mortar fire. ‘This attack was planned,’ Obeid said. ‘The accuracy with which the mortars hit us was too good for any ordinary revolutionaries.’”
7. Stevens died of smoke inhalation at a Benghazi hospital:
“Meanwhile, Stevens, 52, had been found by local people and taken, unrecognized, to a hospital, around 1 a.m. A doctor failed to revive him and pronounced him dead of smoke inhalation.”
