Envoy to Libya dies in rocket blast

NEW: Libya's deputy PM scolds attack "on America, Libya and free people everywhere" Christopher Stevens was the American envoy to Libya's rebels last year Three American security staffers were killed with him, a witness says (CNN) -- The United States ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, was killed in a rocket attack on the American Consulate in the city of Benghazi on Tuesday, a contractor working at the mission said Wednesday after seeing Stevens' body. Three American security staff were also killed, said the contractor, who asked not to be named for security reasons. He said he saw all four bodies on the street Wednesday morning. The bodies are now in the Central Hospital in Benghazi, he said. Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagur appeared to confirm that the envoy had been killed, saying that Stevens was "a friend of Libya, and we are shocked at the the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi." An armed man waves his rifle as buildings and cars are engulfed in flames after being set on fire inside the U.S. Consulate compound in Benghazi, Libya, late on Tuesday, September 11. An armed mob protesting a film they said offended Islam attacked the consulate in Benghazi and set fire to the building, killing one American staff member, witnesses and officials said. The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is set on fire during a protest. Armed gunmen attacked the compound on Tuesday evening, clashing with Libyan security forces before the latter withdrew as they came under heavy fire. Protesters destroy an American flag pulled down from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. Islamists, angered by a film they say defames the prophet Mohammed, scaled the walls of the embassy to tear down the U.S. flag and raise a black flag in an unprecedented security breach. People stand around a drawing that says "Remember your black day 11 September" during the protest in Cairo. People shout slogans and light flares in front of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. People shout slogans in front of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. Protesters pull down a U.S. flag. Thousands angered by the film produced by expatriate members of Egypt's Christian minority in the United States protest outside the U.S. Embassy. Demonstrators yell outside the U.S. Embassy. Egyptian riot police stand guard as protesters climb down from the wall. An Egyptian protester waves a black flag inscribed with the Muslim profession of faith -- "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God" -- as he stands above the door of the U.S. Embassy. Protesters gather along the U.S. Embassy wall. Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings Protesters storm U.S. Embassy buildings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Protesters storm U.S. Embassy walls Fringe group behind Libya attacks? "I condemn these barbaric acts in the strongest possible terms. This is an attack on America, Libya and free people everywhere," Abushagur said on Twitter. The contractor in Benghazi said he could hear rocket-propelled grenade attacks last night. Libyans were also killed, the contractor said, saying the victims were shot on the spot. The deaths came as protesters attacked U.S. diplomatic compounds in Libya and Egypt on Tuesday, angry about an online film considered offensive to Islam. The United States has not confirmed the deaths. Stevens was the American envoy to the Libyan rebel movement that overthrew dictator Moammar Gadhafi last year, based in the rebel capital of Benghazi. A speaker of Arabic and French, he was among the first American diplomats sent to Libya in 2007 when the United States resumed ties with the Gadhafi regime. The last time an American ambassador was killed by terrorists was in 1979, when the envoy to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs, was kidnapped and killed during an attempt to rescue him, according to State Department records. CNN's Stephanie Halasz, Jomana Karadsheh, Elise Labott and Kirsten Dewar contributed to this report.