Libya killings said to be ‘terrorist attack’

In an email to The Times, however, Mrs. Collins said she thinks “the review must be conducted by an independent entity like the inspector general.”

“Given the loss of lives of four Americans who were serving their country and the serious questions that have been raised about the security at our consulate in Benghazi, it is imperative that a nonpolitical, no-holds-barred examination be conducted,” she said.

‘An opportunistic attack’

Pressure has increased this week for Congress to conduct its own investigation into the Benghazi attack, along with the storming of the U.S. Embassy by protesters in Cairo. Both incidents occurred on the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.

Such calls come in the heat of an election year. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has accused President Obama of mishandling the situation. Mr. Obama, his fellow Democrats and even some Republicans have said the criticism was unseemly and not based in truth.

Until Wednesday, lawmakers and even top Libyan officials had disputed the Obama administration’s assertion that the Libya attacks were merely a result of mob violence spawned by an offensive film.

Political responses to the incidents became increasingly charged last weekend, when U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice appeared on several news talk shows to assert that U.S. officials “don’t see, at this point, signs this was a coordinated, premeditated attack.”

Mr. Lieberman appeared intent on keeping the debate going Wednesday, when he asked Mr. Olsen whether the Americans killed in Benghazi had “died as a result of a terrorist attack.”

“Certainly, on that particular question, I would say, yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack,” Mr. Olsen said.

But he stopped short of characterizing the attack as one that had been planned by terrorists to coincide with the Sept. 11 anniversary, saying it was “a more complicated question” that intelligence officials are “spending a great deal of time looking at.”

“The best information we have now, the facts that we have now indicate that this was an opportunistic attack on our embassy,” Mr. Olsen said. “The attack began and evolved and escalated over several hours at our embassy — our diplomatic post in Benghazi.

“What we don’t have at this point is specific intelligence that there was a significant advanced planning or coordination for this attack,” he added.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.

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