FBI investigators into Libya killings postpone visit there

PanARMENIAN.Net - FBI investigators probing the U.S. Consulate killings in Libya put off a visit there until conditions in the volatile region are safer, CNN reports.

Agents hoped to arrive on Saturday, Sept 15, but reconsidered because of the instability sweeping across Libya and throughout the region, federal law enforcement officials said.

One source said there's nothing to be gained by putting additional people in harm's way when the situation on the ground remains volatile. It's hard to say when the situation will become stable enough for the FBI to visit, the officials said.

"Safety comes first," one source said.

Agents are now conducting interviews with witnesses outside the country, such as people who've been evacuated.

Militants on Tuesday, the anniversary the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, attacked the consulate in Benghazi, killing U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Libyan officials believe it was a planned assault that used a protest over a film mocking the Prophet Mohammed as a diversion. Rage over the film across the Muslim world has made the region dangerous terrain for Westerners.

The federal sources say the crime scene at the consulate is far from pristine. They say many people, including journalists, have been inside the charred remains of the compound, but insist evidence can still be gathered.