Cairo (CNN) – The United States said it was taking measures to protect its citizens worldwide after protesters angry about an online film considered offensive to Islam attacked U.S. diplomatic compounds in Libya and Egypt on Tuesday, killing an American.

In Cairo, several men scaled the walls of the U.S. Embassy and tore down its American flag, according to CNN producer Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, who was on the scene.

In Libya, witnesses say members of a radical Islamist group called Ansar al-Sharia protested near the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, where NATO jets established no-fly zones last year to blunt ground attacks from then Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

The group then clashed with security forces in the city, blocking roads leading to the consulate, witnesses said.

A U.S. State Department officer was killed in the violence in Benghazi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement late Tuesday.

“We are heartbroken by this terrible loss,” Clinton said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who have suffered in this attack.”

Clinton said that she condemned the attack on the U.S. facilities “in the strongest terms” and that following Tuesday’s events, the U.S. government was “working with partner countries around the world to protect our personnel, our missions and American citizens worldwide.” FULL ARTICLE

Related articles

• Mob attacks U.S. Consulate in Libya (content.usatoday.com)
• Mob sets fire to US consulate in Libya, staffer dies (sott.net)
• US Consulate Staffer Killed in Protest in Libya (voanews.com)
• American killed in Libya protest over anti-Muslim film – CBC.ca (cbc.ca)
• Islamists Fire Rocket-Propelled Grenades at US Consulate in Libya – Building Torched to the Ground! (thegatewaypundit.com)
• Clashes kill American staffer at U.S. consulate in Libya over ‘insulting’ film, sources say (conservativeread.com)
• U.S. Embassies Come Under Attack In Mid East (5min.com)
• Gunmen storm Libya’s US consulate (english.ruvr.ru)