Ah, but you are assuming the ambassador died of smoke inhalation. Do we really know that?
Do we know 30 other people were safe but 4 people?
Do we know that the locals hired by Blue Mountain were not Al Qaeda?
We really know none of this. Probably never will.
It’s not much of an assumption. Most of the first reports stated it. The evidence at the scene supports it. The video of his body first being pulled from the burned out building shows smoke around his mouth and nostrils, blue lips and smoke smudged clothing. He appeared lifeless.
We have reports from the DoD of 37 people being evacuated to Tripoli and this report that they are in Germany at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
Do we know that the locals hired by Blue Mountain were not Al Qaeda?
I have no idea about that. It was reported that "Mission security and Libyan guards" were the ones who repelled attacks at the consulate and got the personnel to the "safe house." I could be wrong but I have assumed that Mission security and the Blue Mountain team were one and the same.