TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — A top State Department official has attended a memorial service in Libya's capital for the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans who were killed last week in Benghazi.
William Burns is the highest-ranking diplomat to travel to Libya since the attack. The visit comes as U.S. officials still work to piece together how Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed.
A large picture of Stevens was on display at the service, held in a Tripoli hotel. It was attended by Libya's president and prime minister.
Libya's president said Stevens had improved relations between the two countries and had helped Libya in its time of need during last year's uprising against Moammar Gadhafi.
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APPHOTO CAI116: U.S. deputy Secretary of State William Burns, left, speaks with Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif during a memorial service in Tripoli, Libya, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, for U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three consulate staff killed in Benghazi on Sept. 11. The deputy U.S. secretary of state has met senior Libyan officials in Tripoli and attended a memorial service for the American ambassador and three consulate staffers killed in an attack last week. William Burns is the most senior US official to visit Libya in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack on the consulate in Benghazi and comes as Washington is still working to piece together how its top diplomat there, Ambassador Chris Stevens, was killed. (AP Photo/Abdel Magid al-Fergany) (20 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO CAI116 (09/20/12)>>
APPHOTO CAI114: Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif speaks during a memorial service in Tripoli, Libya, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, for U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three consulate staff killed in Benghazi on Sept. 11. The deputy U.S. secretary of state has met senior Libyan officials in Tripoli and attended a memorial service for the American ambassador and three consulate staffers killed in an attack last week. William Burns is the most senior US official to visit Libya in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack on the consulate in Benghazi and comes as Washington is still working to piece together how its top diplomat there, Ambassador Chris Stevens, was killed. Arabic on the poster reads, "thank you, Chris." (AP Photo/Abdel Magid al-Fergany) (20 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO CAI114 (09/20/12)>>
