The September 11 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi was in fact "a terrorist attack", with indications that al Qaeda were directly involved, according to a top US official.

"I would say yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy," Matt Olsen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

"We are looking at indications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections to al Qaeda or al Qaeda's affiliates; in particular, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb," he added, as cited by Foreign Policy.

The US government is yet to determine whether the terrorist attack was pre-planned or whether it was an example of terrorists taking advantage of protests against an anti-Islam film

Last week, an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, said to be triggered by a film deemed offensive to Muslims, killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens, 3 other officers, and several Libyans.

The film, which portrays Prophet Muhammad as a religious cheat and a womanizer, has sparked violent protests in many Muslim countries and in Europe over the recent days.

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