WASHINGTON — According to a government document, two hours after the U.S. Consulate came under attack in Benghazi, Libya, the White House was told that a militant group was claiming responsibility for the violence that killed the U.S. ambassador.
A State Department e-mail to intelligence officials and the White House situation room said Ansar al-Sharia claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter, and also called for an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli.
The document could fuel Republican efforts to show that the White House knew it was a terrorist attack while the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was saying it looked like a protest gone awry.
The Associated Press and other news organizations obtained the unclassified e-mail from government officials who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly.
Meanwhile, the Tunisian government has confirmed it has arrested a 28-year-old Tunisian reportedly linked to the U.S. consulate attack in Libya.
Tunisian Interior Ministry spokesman Tarrouch Khaled said Wednesday that Ali Harzi was in custody in Tunis. Khaled said “his case is in the hands of justice.” He did not elaborate.
In Washington, the State Department had no comment. Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the U.S. has been looking into the arrests of two Tunisian men being detained in Turkey reportedly in connection with attacks on a consulate in Libya last month.
Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died in the attack on the U.S. diplomatic post Benghazi on Sept. 11.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.