PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Protests against the anti-Islam film produced in the United States have again turned deadly.
In Pakistan, tens of thousands turned out to show their anger over the film. Rioters threw rocks and set fire to buildings in some cities, and police fired tear gas and live ammunition to try to subdue them. Three people were killed and dozens were injured.
Pakistan's government declared today a holiday so that people could rally against the video.
In the city of Peshawar, police fired on rioters who were torching a movie theater. A reporter for a Pakistani TV station says a driver who worked for the station was killed when police bullets hit his vehicle. A demonstrator also died. Police in Karachi say armed protesters fired on police, killing one and wounding another. They say the crowd also burned two movie theaters and a bank.
In Lahore and Islamabad, police fired tear gas and warning shots to try to keep crowds from advancing toward the U.S. missions.
Thousands of Muslims protested in at least a half-dozen other countries. In Iraq, about 3,000 protesters condemned the film and caricatures of the prophet in a French satirical weekly. Protesters burned Israeli and American flags.
In Sri Lanka, about 2,000 Muslims burned effigies of Obama and American flags after Friday prayers. About 2,000 people marched through the streets of the capital of Bangladesh.
%@AP Links
195-a-12-(Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf (RAH'-juh pehr-VAYZ' AHSH'-ruhf), in remarks)-"at fomenting hatred"-Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf calls on the international community to initiate a law banning blasphemy. ((the accent and audio quality may make this audio difficult to understand)) (21 Sep 2012)
<<CUT *195 (09/21/12)>> 00:12 "at fomenting hatred"
196-r-14-(Sound of Muslim devotees and members of various Islamic groups, at protest rally in streets of Bangladesh capital)--Sound of Muslim devotees and members of various Islamic groups at a protest rally in the streets of the Bangladesh capital. (21 Sep 2012)
<<CUT *196 (09/21/12)>> 00:14
246-r-12-(Sound of protesters, trying to reach the U.S. embassy in Islamabad)--Sound of protesters trying to reach the U.S. Embassy inside a guarded enclave that houses embassies and government offices in Pakistan's capital. (20 Sep 2012)
<<CUT *246 (09/20/12)>> 00:12
APPHOTO XMM104: A Pakistani riot policeman, center, hurls a stone at protesters, during clashes that erupted as protestors tried to approach the U.S embassy, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Pakistani police opened fire on rioters who were torching a cinema during a protest against an anti-Islam film Friday, and security forces clashed with demonstrators in several other cities in Pakistan on a holiday declared by the government so people could rally against the video. Thousands of people protested in several other countries, some of them burning American flags and effigies of President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) (21 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO XMM104 (09/21/12)>>
APPHOTO DEL149: Members of the radical Islamic women's group Dukhtaran-e-Millat, or daughters of the nation, participate in a protest opposing anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims" as white smoke of tear gas fired by police rises on the street in Srinagar, India, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Police have clamped a daylong curfew in parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir's main city and chased away protesters opposing the film produced in the United States. Authorities in the region also temporarily blocked cell phone and Internet services to prevent viewing the film clips. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan) (21 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO DEL149 (09/21/12)>>
