(CNN) -- The Obama administration may very well be right that the attack in Benghazi which claimed the lives of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other U.S. officials was part of a pre-planned terrorist operation. It would have happened sooner or later regardless of any protests against an obscure anti-Islam film made in America. The attack apparently occurred because in recent days, the al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri posted a video online calling on Libyans to avenge the killing of al-Qaeda's second in command, Abu Yahya al-Libi. According to our own sources at Quilliam Foundation, the attack was the work of roughly 20 militants prepared for a military assault. It is rare, for example, that an RPG7 -- an anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher -- would be present at a civilian protest. The attack against the consulate had two waves. The first attack led to U.S. officials being evacuated from the consulate by Libyan security forces, only for the second wave to be launched against U.S. officials after they were kept at a secure location.
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U.S. consulate in Libya was attacked; some thought it was because of a video
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Noman Benotman: The attack was most likely a pre-planned terrorist operation
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He says attack does not represent views of most Libyans, who are grateful to U.S.
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Benotman: The international community must not give up on Libya's reconstruction
The jihadists may also feel that by killing @placeholder citizens, they will win the support of local populations.