Washington, Oct. 21 (ANI): The latest intelligence assessment of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, has indicated that there was little, if any pre-planning for it, and that it was in part, an opportunistic response to protests before the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.
Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the attack, which has become a political hot potato in the US presidential campaign.
"Right now, there isn't any intelligence that the attackers pre-planned their assault days or weeks in advance," a U.S. intelligence official said.
"The bulk of available information supports the early assessment that the attackers launched their assault opportunistically after they learned about the violence at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo," the official said.
According to CBS News, but the official added that "no one is ruling out that some of the attackers may have aspired to attack the U.S. in Benghazi."
On September 28, a spokesman for the Director of National Intelligence's office issued a press release revising the initial assessment that the attack "began spontaneously following protests earlier that day at our embassy in Cairo."
The spokesman said new information indicated it "was a deliberate and organized terrorist attack carried out by extremists."
According to the report, the current assessment is the latest shift in a narrative that has become politicized on Capitol Hill and the presidential campaign. (ANI)
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