Libya reports employee at U.S. consulate killed during protests, U.S. official says

 

From Elise Labott and Jomana Karadsheh, CNN

September 12, 2012 -- Updated 0148 GMT (0948 HKT)

A man waves his rifle as buildings burn during protests at the U.S. consulate compound in Benghazi late Tuesday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Militants attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, a State Department spokeswoman says
• State Department official: Libya has notified the United States that a consular employee was killed
• The State Department does not have independent confirmation of the death

(CNN) -- The Libyan government has notified the United States that an employee at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was killed Tuesday, a State Department official told CNN.

The State Department does not have independent confirmation of the death, the official said. The nationality of the worker was not immediately clear.

Earlier Tuesday, a group of militants attacked the consulate, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

"We are working with the Libyans now to secure the compound," Nuland said. "We condemn in strongest terms this attack on our diplomatic mission."

Members of a radical Islamist group had been protesting at the consulate, a freelance journalist working for CNN in Benghazi said.

Protesters storm U.S. Embassy in Cairo