'Allah-u-Akbar': State Department unclassifies first official photos from aftermath of Benghazi attack, including jihadi graffiti left behind

A set of seven stunning photographs emerged Thursday, showing the first official glimpse of the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2012 terror attack on the U.S. Consulate Special Mission Compound in Benghazi, Libya that left US. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead.

The grainy, scanned pictures, released by the advocacy group Judicial Watch , were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request lodged with the U.S. Department of State. They are the first images of the Benghazi attack released by the State Department.



Three of them show Arabic-language spray paint graffiti. According to translations provided to MailOnline by the Investigative Project on Terrorism, they likely read 'Thrones of HamzaIn'; 'Allah-u Akbar'; and 'Unity of ranks.' The group's translator emphasized that his analysis was preliminary.

'Allah-u-Akbar' is a familiar rallying cry among Islamist radicals, meaning 'God is great.'



Graffiti left by the militant Islamist attackers read, among other things, 'Allah-u-Akbar' ('God is great')

Judicial Watch released State Department photos on June 20 showing the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2012 Benghazi attack. The group obtained them after suing to force compliance with a FOIA request

Charred debris littered the compound after the terror attack which left four Americans dead, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya

The other images show a burned-out pickup truck and piles of charred debris left outside a compound building after the attack.

Judicial Watch said in a press release that it filed its FOIA request on December 19, 2012 and received the photos on June 6.

The group filed a lawsuit in late February to force the federal government to turn over the images. It still has three other similar lawsuits pending.

A protester reacts as the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during a military-style attack by armed jihadis. The State Department hasn't released any images of the attack in progress - only photos showing portions of the aftermath

Dramatic images like this one have been seen worldwide, making it unlikely that the Obama administration's release of grainy, after-the-fact pictures will add tremendously to the public's understanding of what happened on Sept. 11, 2012

A doorway in flames on that fateful night shows the power of incendiary devices, perhaps hurled into the building by militants from groups including Ansar al-Sharia, a terror organization linked to al Qaeda

The only other photos available publicly from the night of the attack are from press agencies that were on the scene. They are generally of better quality, and show vehicles and buildings burning.

One series of iconic photos from Reuters shows militants in front of the fires, holding their rifles aloft.

Others showed bloody handprints and a burned-out window frame where Stevens is said to have been dragged to his death.



The Benghazi attack has become the subject of scandal in Washington since it emerged that figures in the Obama administration had a hand in altering the CIA's unvarnished version of events before UN Ambassador Susan Rice appeared on television to discuss the attack just days after it happened

Judicial Watch said it still has three more lawsuits outstanding on FOIA matters, suggesting that more disclosures may be coming from the Obama administration's lawyers

Furniture from inside the compound, burned beyond use, was already heaped in a parking lot by the time these photos were taken, suggesting that they may have been taken long after the attack

The FBI has said it took weeks to get its investigators on the ground in Libya. Congress has held several hearings seeking answers about why the consulate was left with a tiny security contingent on the anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks in 2001

'The fact that it took six months and a federal lawsuit to release these few photos tells you all you need to know about the Obama administration’s Benghazi stonewall,' said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

'We now know that every video or photo, along with every additional piece of information we uncover, will tell us more about Benghazi - in contrast to the continued lies and spin coming out of the Obama administration about this atrocity.'