On September 11, 2012, a series of protests and violent attacks began in response to a YouTube trailer for a film called Innocence of Muslims, considered blasphemous by many Muslims. The reactions began at U.S. diplomatic mission in Cairo, Egypt, and quickly spread across the Muslim world to additional U.S. and other countries' diplomatic missions and other locations, with issues beyond the offense at the movie trailer becoming subjects of protest. In Cairo a group scaled the embassy wall and tore down the American flag to replace it with a black Islamic flag.
Also on September 11, a well-known group of local Islamist militants launched a planned attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, killing four Americans. Numerous eyewitnesses reported that the attackers said they were motivated by the video.[21][22][23][24][25][26] Though Libyan officials initially stated that hundreds of protesters had been present before the attack, it was later determined that no protesters had been present.[27][28] Republican critics accused the Obama Administration of overemphasizing the role of the video in the attack and launched numerous Congressional probes and investigations of the incident.
On September 13, protests occurred at the U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen, resulting in the deaths of four protesters and injuries to thirty-five protesters and guards. On September 14, the U.S. consulate in Chennai was attacked, resulting in injuries to twenty-five protesters.[14] Protesters in Tunis, Tunisia, climbed the U.S. embassy walls and set trees on fire. At least four people were killed and forty-six injured during protests in Tunis on September 15.[6] Further protests were held at U.S. diplomatic missions and other locations in the days following the initial attacks. Related protests and attacks resulted in numerous deaths and injuries across the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Afghanistan
Over 50 deaths[hide]
12 (Afghanistan)[1]
23 (Pakistan)[2][3][4]
4 (Yemen)[5]
4 (Tunisia)[6]
4 (Israeli border)[7]
3 (Sudan)[8]
3 (Lebanon)[8][9]
1 (Egypt)[10]
At least 694-695 injured
