WASHINGTON: Hillary Clinton stood her ground firmly during 11 hours of questioning over the 2012 Benghazi attacks, parrying Republican blows at a high-stakes congressional hearing that could impact her bid for the White House.

Partisan fireworks exploded repeatedly between Republican and Democrat members of the House Select Committee on Benghazi during Thursday’s marathon grilling that at times took on the character of an interrogation.

But the Democratic frontrunner for president remained composed. She accused her rivals of exploiting the deadly attacks in Libya, which came under her watch as secretary of state, for political gain.

Clinton endured four hours-long sessions over the course of the day.

In her highly anticipated testimony Clinton acknowledged, as she has done in the past, her share of blame for the attack which cost the lives of four Americans including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

“I take responsibility for what happened in Benghazi,” she said.

“I’m here to honor the service of those four men.” But she firmly rebutted claims that she failed to boost security at the US diplomatic compound overrun by extremists on Sept. 11, 2012, saying she was never consulted directly about requests for additional measures. The Benghazi tragedy has hovered over Clinton for three years, threatening to upend her White House candidacy, especially after the inquiry launched 17 months ago led to revelations that she used a personal email account and server while she was top US diplomat.