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Hillary Clinton has told a Congressional committee that she took responsibility after the 2012 attack on US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

The Democratic presidential hopeful added that as secretary of state she introduced reforms to protect diplomatic staff after the attack.

Committee chairman Trey Gowdy said: “We owe them [the victims] the truth.”

Hillary Clinton’s party says the Republican-led panel is a witch-hunt trying to harm her presidential bid.

In her opening statement at the congressional hearing, Hillary Clinton said she had asked Chris Stevens to go to Libya as US ambassador.

“After the attacks I stood next to President Obama as Marines carried his casket,” she said.

“I took responsibility, and as part of that before I left office I launched reforms to better protect our people in the field and help reduce the chance of another tragedy happening in the future.”Hillary Clinton Benghazi hearing October 2015

Hillary Clinton said her appearance was her way of honoring the lives lost, and she called on those present to put national security above partisan politics.

Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings, seated next to the chairman, said Republicans were wasting taxpayer money in an effort to derail Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

However, Trey Gowdy denied his committee was going after Hillary Clinton.

Instead, he said, it was looking for the truth behind the diplomatic compound’s unsuccessful requests for more security and personnel in the build up to the attacks.

There have already been seven congressional investigations into the attack, by suspected Islamist militants, on the US compound in the Libyan city of Benghazi on September 11, 2012.

The raid led to the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other US embassy staff.

Hillary Clinton said Chris Stevens was well aware of the risks of his job but withdrawing American presence from Libya would have been a mistake.

“To retreat from the world is not an option. America cannot shrink from our ability to lead,” she said.

When the US pulls out of places, extremists gain a foothold, Hillary Clinton added, although she did admit that security requests made by the Benghazi consulate were not met.

An independent review board found deficiencies within the State Department that the Obama administration has tried to fix, Hillary Clinton said.

Observers say this is a key moment for Hillary Clinton, who solidified her position as the Democrats’ frontrunner for presidential candidate after her potential rival, VP Joe Biden, ruled himself out of the race on October 22.

Hillary Clinton’s appearance before the House of Representatives Select Committee on Benghazi could further strengthen her position or raise doubts about her suitability as a presidential nominee.

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Hillary Clinton is set to testify in front of a Congressional committee about the attack on a US consulate in Libya in 2012 that killed the Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

The Democratic presidential hopeful was secretary of state at the time and is likely to face tough questions.

This is Hillary Clinton’s second appearance before Republican-dominated Congress on her handling of the incident.

Hillary Clinton’s Democratic Party says it is a witch-hunt designed to harm her presidential bid.

There have already been seven congressional investigations into the attack, by suspected Islamist militants, on the US compound in the Libyan city of Benghazi on September 11, 2012.Hillary Clinton second Benghazi hearing

Hillary Clinton is likely to be asked to explain: why the US government initially claimed the attack was spontaneous, sparked by a YouTube video that had led to protests in the region, when evidence later emerged that the raid was likely to have been planned; why calls by Ambassador Chris Stevens for security reinforcements at the consulate were apparently ignored; whether she compromised classified information by using her private email server instead of using a government email account for all her correspondence while secretary of state.

Observers say this is a key moment for Hillary Clinton, who solidified her position as the Democrats’ frontrunner for presidential candidate after her potential rival, VP Joe Biden, ruled himself out of the race on October 21.

Hillary Clinton’s appearance before the House of Representatives Select Committee on Benghazi could further strengthen her position or raise doubts about her suitability as a presidential nominee.

The Republicans on the committee are also under pressure to prove they have good reason to bring Hillary Clinton before them, and are not just using it as an excuse to undermine her presidential candidacy.

Comments made by Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy earlier this month, as part of his bid to become Speaker of the House, suggesting the committee was doing just that, have not helped their position.

Hillary Clinton said, in a TV interview earlier this month, that she was “looking forward to answering questions about the real things when I’m there” and voiced her disgust at “a political partisan committee for the sole purpose of going after me”.