State Department Declassifies Official Photos of Benghazi Consulate Attack Aftermath

Burned-out trucks, graffiti

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.'