2012 U.S. diplomatic missions attacks

On September 11, 2012, the United States embassies in Cairo, Egypt; Chennai, India; Tunis, Tunisia; Khartoum, Sudan; Sana'a, Yemen, and the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya were attacked.^[1]

Protest and attack

On September 11, 2012, the attack was caused by protests over media excerpts from a trailer of a movie, Innocence of Muslims,^[2] which the protestors considered blasphemy against the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. In Egypt, a group scaled the embassy wall and tore down the American flag, replacing it with a black Islamist flag. In Libya, rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the consulate from a nearby farm. The attack killed the visiting U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens,^[3] Glen Doherty a security officer, Sean Smith a United States Foreign Service Information Management Officer, and Tyrone S. Woods a former U.S. Navy Seal, ten Libyan police officers, and two others. The protest ended on September 27, 2012.

Deaths

About 75 people were killed by the attack. The most notable deaths were the ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woods.

Christopher Stevens (April 18, 1960 – September 11, 2012) was the ambassador. He died of suffocation from a smoke grenade.
Sean Smith (1978 – September 11, 2012) was the Information Management Officer at the embassy. He also suffocated from smoke grenades.
Glen Doherty (c. 1970 - September 11, 2012) was a security officer at the embassy. He died after the embassy caught fire.
Tyrone Snowden Woods (January 15, 1971 – September 12, 2012) was an American Navy soldier and part of the State Department Diplomatic Security. Woods was killed while protecting diplomats.^[4]