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Clinton ties 2012 Benghazi attack to "Al Qaeda-like group"

WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (KUNA) -- The latest batch of email from former secretary of State Hillary Clinton, released on Monday by the State Department, shows that on the night of the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Clinton told her daughter Chelsea that the attack was launched by "an Al Qaeda-like group." In the email, Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president next year, expresses grief at the loss of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and Sean Smith, an information management officer. Two other Americans died later that night after they went to the compound to aid the diplomats.
"Very hard day and I fear more of the same tomorrow," Clinton wrote.
On the same night Clinton wrote the email to her daughter, she released a public statement on the Benghazi attack, which noted, "Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet." The Obama administration came under intense criticism for drawing a connection between the attack and an anti-Islam video released in the United States.
In last month's hearing of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, Republicans alleged that Clinton misled the American people by implying the attack erupted out of protests related to the video.
The revelation that Clinton used a private email server while serving as secretary of State led to the latest email release, which is part of a broader effort.
The release on Monday contained more than 5,000 Clinton emails, about 328 of which had information that was retroactively classified ahead of the release and therefore redacted, according to the State Department.(end) rm.tg