SANAA, Yemen – Protesters angered by a film they consider blasphemous to Islam have stormed the U.S. Embassy compound in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in the most recent attack on U.S. diplomatic posts in the Middle East.
The Associated Press reports the protesters reached the embassy's grounds but did not enter the building housing the offices. Once inside the embassy, the mob tore down the U.S. flag and burned it. Before storming the compound, the demonstrators removed the embassy's sign and set tires on fire.
It was similar to an attack on the U.S. Embassy in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Tuesday night. A mob of Libyans also attacked the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday, killing American Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Warning shots and tear gas were fired on Egyptian protesters who were clashing with police near the U.S. Embassy in the capital Cairo for the third day in a row.
The violence has raised worries that further protests could break out around the Muslim world as anger spreads over the movie.
Yemeni security forces who rushed to the scene fired in the air and used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators and were eventually able to drive them out of the compound. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was inside the embassy at the time of the attack.
The Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in Washington, D.C. said in a statement obtained by Fox News the government of Yemen "strongly condemns" the attack on the U.S. compound, but says the situation is under control.
"The government of Yemen will honor international obligations to ensure the safety of diplomats and will step up security presence around all foreign missions," the statement read.
Pentagon officials tell Fox News that Pentagon and U.S. Navy officials are monitoring the situation in Yemen, but so far have received no request for military assistance there following the Embassy breach.
Yemen is home to Al Qaeda's most active branch and the United States is the main foreign supporter of the Yemeni government's counterterrorism campaign. The government on Tuesday announced that Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader in Yemen was killed in an apparent U.S. airstrike, a major blow to the terror network.
The movie, "Innocence of Muslims," came to attention in Egypt after its trailer was dubbed into Arabic and posted on YouTube. The video-sharing website blocked access to it Wednesday. The trailer depicts Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a madman in an overtly ridiculing way, showing him having sex and calling for massacres.
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