Caught unaware by Libya attack, US braces for more violent fallout from anti-Muslim film

WASHINGTON – U.S. officials are bracing for possible protests across the Muslim world over an anti-Islam film blamed on an attack in Libya that killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.

With angry protests already occurring in Egypt and Yemen, the U.S. has put all of its diplomatic missions on high alert. And Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has denounced the anti-Islam video in hopes of pre-empting further turmoil.

U.S. officials say there’s was no indication the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya was planned, but they are investigating whether a Libyan-based militant group was responsible for turning the protest violent.