White House under fire over Libya attack Republicans have intensified their criticism of the Obama administration's handling of the fatal attack on the US consulate in Libya and its belated acknowledgement that it was a "deliberate and organised terrorist" assault. The killing of Christopher Stevens, ambassador, and three other Americans at the Benghazi compound has triggered a backlash within Libya against armed groups and the hardcore Islamists suspected of being behind the attack on September 11 this year. But Libya's own investigation has yet to yield any clues, at least publicly, as to who was responsible. After doggedly asserting it was part of spontaneous protests sweeping the region over an anti-Islamic video, the US administration completed its climbdown late on Friday with a statement from the Director of National Intelligence. The DNI said that after initially telling the White House and Congress that it seemed to be a spontaneous mob action, it had now concluded that some of the attackers were linked with, or sympathetic to, al-Qaeda. Republicans, including Senator John McCain, one of the most hawkish members of Congress, were especially critical of the statement five days after the incident from Susan Rice, the US UN ambassador, which stuck by the initial assessment. That doesn't pass the smell test. It was either wilful ignorance or abysmal intelligence to think that people come to spontaneous demonstrations with heavy weapons, mortars and the attack goes on for hours," Mr MCain told CNN. With the first crucial debate between Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, to be held on Wednesday, the administration is racing to put a lid on a potentially embarrassing intelligence and diplomatic failure. David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr Obama's re-election campaign, said Ms Rice was acting on the intelligence assessment that had been provided to her and suggestions she should resign were "thoroughly irresponsible." Following a storm of controversy, many Libyans in the east of the country fear US retaliation, especially in cities such as Derna, which has a reputation as a bastion of Islamic militancy. Residents say they have been hearing and spotting increased numbers of US drones flying overhead, especially on the outskirts of Derna, since the attack. But law enforcement officials and the militias themselves remain unclear over who was behind the attack. Despite allegations it was inspired or planned by militants with al-Qaeda ties, some Libyan officials accused loyalists of Muammer Gaddafi, the country's former leader, of being behind the incident. They said the consulate, located inside a walled compound, in a leafy, upscale residential suburb of Benghazi, had yet to be thoroughly searched for clues. Not a single guard stood by the compound during a recent visit. Security officials also had scant information about the state of investigation into the attack. "We actually haven't started a real investigation," said Fawzi Waniss Gaddafi, who heads Benghazi's Supreme Security Council, a branch of the interior ministry. We are still gathering evidence from photos and videos. But others within the security forces spoke of dozens of informal talks with those who allegedly took part in the rowdy demonstration before the consulate attack. "The security forces are definitely conducting interviews with people at the scene," said one Libyan security official in Benghazi. But no information about the investigation is being provided to the public.