Egyptian Protesters Remove U.S. Flag During Attack on American Embassy

Posted on Sep 11, 2012

AP/Mohammed Abu Zaid

Demonstrators climbed the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, went into the courtyard and took down the flag to protest a film deemed offensive to Islam.

A group of demonstrators in Cairo on Tuesday stormed the U.S. Embassy to object to a film production that they say insults the Prophet Muhammad. The protesters climbed the walls, took down the American flag, destroyed it and replaced it with a black standard with Islamic emblems that read, “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger.”

It’s unclear which film the protest was over.

CNN:

The incident prompted a volley of warning shots to be fired as a large crowd gathered outside, said CNN producer Mohammed Fahmy, who was on the scene.

...An embassy operator told CNN that the facility had been cleared of diplomatic personnel earlier Tuesday, ahead of the apparent threat, while Egyptian riot police were called to help secure the area.

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement Tuesday that it “condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims—as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.”

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