US officials knew Libya attack was terrorism within 24 hours, sources confirm September 27, 2012 FoxNews.comIntelligence sources said that the Obama administration internally labeled the attack terrorism from the first day in order to unlock and mobilize certain resources to respond, and that officials were looking for one specific suspect. The sources said the intelligence community knew by Sept. 12 that the militant Ansar al-Shariah and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb were likely behind the strike.
Further, an official said, "No one ... believed that the mortars, indirect and direct fire, and the RPGs were just the work of a mob -- no one."
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly suggested Wednesday to foreign leaders visiting the United Nations summit in New York that the Al Qaeda affiliate in North Africa was involved.
"Now with a larger safe haven and increased freedom to maneuver, terrorists are seeking to extend their reach and their networks in multiple directions," Clinton told the group, according to The New York Times. "And they are working with other violent extremists to undermine the democratic transitions under way in North Africa, as we tragically saw in Benghazi."
She was referring to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Pro-al Qaeda group seen behind deadly Benghazi attack CNN, Sept. 13thLibyans See al Qaeda Hand in Embassy Attack WSJ, Sept. 17th
The Motive and the Means: Did al-Qaeda Stage the Benghazi Attack? Time, Oct. 2nd
Al Qaeda, ex-Gitmo detainee involved in consulate attack, intelligence sources say Fox News, Sept. 20th
Benghazi: A Sea of Al-Qaeda Flags NRO, November 5, 2011
US military official: Some Benghazi consulate attackers had links to al-Qaida in North Africa Nov. 14, 2012
Gen. Ham, commander of Africom.