At least 15 people have been killed during violent protests which erupted on the streets of Pakistan’s main cities in anger at anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims made in the US.
Ten people were killed in the port city of Karachi and a further five died in the north-western city of Peshawar, hospital officials said.
Protesters also breached the diplomatic enclave in the capital, Islamabad, near the US embassy.
There has been widespread unrest over the amateur film, Innocence of Muslims.
Dozens of people have been reported wounded and some were in a critical condition.
Protests have already left several people dead around the world, including Pakistan, where the government had appealed in advance for peaceful protests, declaring a holiday and “day of love” for the Prophet Muhammad.
At least 15 people have been killed during violent anti-film protests which erupted on the streets of Pakistani main cities
Although US targets have borne the brunt of protests against the film, anti-Western sentiment has been stoked further by caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published this week in the satirical French magazine, Charlie Hebdo.
France shut embassies and other missions in around 20 countries across the Muslim world on Friday.
Protests were banned in France itself and in Tunisia, where France is the former colonial power, but there were widespread demonstrations elsewhere:
• A peaceful protest took place outside the US embassy in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur
• Some 3,000 people marched in the southern Iraqi city of Basra
• Thousands burned US and French flags in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka
• Crowds rallied in Baalbek in southern Lebanon in a protest organized by the Shia militant group, Hezbollah, burning US and Israeli flags
• There were fears of violence in the Libyan city of Benghazi where the US ambassador and three other American officials were killed in an attack on the US consulate in the city on 11 September
But it was in Pakistan’s major cities that protesters took to the streets in big numbers and tried to march on US diplomatic missions.
The worst of the violence took place in the country’s biggest city, Karachi, and the north-western city of Peshawar, close to Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt.
Police in Karachi fired live bullets in the air to disperse the crowds and one of those killed was a policeman. Health officials said 10 bodies were taken to two hospitals.
Several cinemas and banks were set on fire and there were reports of looting.
In Peshawar, protesters ransacked cinemas and a driver for Pakistan’s ARY TV was killed when police opened fire on the crowd.
In the capital, Islamabad, which saw its first clashes between protesters and security forces on Thursday, a police checkpost was burned as demonstrators breached the “red zone” where the main embassies and government offices are based.
Police used live rounds and tear gas as the crowd swelled to thousands of people.
The focal point of people’s anger was the US embassy and he had seen more people injured in one hour than all of Thursday.
The low-budget film that has prompted the unrest was made in the US and is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad.
Its exact origins are unclear and the alleged producer for the trailer of the film, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, is in hiding.
Anti-US sentiment grew after a trailer for the film dubbed into Arabic was released on YouTube earlier this month.
US citizens have been urged not to travel to Pakistan and the US embassy has paid for adverts on Pakistani TV showing President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the film.
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New protests are under way in Muslim countries against anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims made in the US.
In Pakistan, a government-declared “special day of love” for the Prophet Muhammad has seen violent clashes and at least one death in the northern city of Peshawar, and clashes elsewhere.
The US has paid for adverts on Pakistani TV that show President Barack Obama condemning the film.
There has been widespread unrest over the amateur film, Innocence of Muslims.
The protests have already claimed several lives around the world.
New protests are under way in Muslim countries against anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims made in the US
Although the US has borne the brunt of protests, anti-Western sentiment has been stoked further by caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published in satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
In Peshawar, protesters attacked and ransacked two cinema buildings. A driver for a Pakistani TV station was killed when police opened fire to disperse protesters, seven of whom were reported wounded.
Clashes between police and protesters are also being reported from the cities of Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi.
In the capital Islamabad, which saw fierce clashes between protesters and security forces on Thursday, the security forces have effectively sealed off large parts of the city. Rubber bullets were fired by police during skirmishes at one of the entrances to the city.
Dozens of protests against the film had already been held across Pakistan over the past week – killing at least two people – but Thursday was the first time violence had erupted in the capital.
All major political parties and religious organizations have announced protests for Friday, along with trade and transport groups.
The Pakistani authorities have urged people to demonstrate peacefully, with mobile phone services cut across the country to reduce security risks.
Meanwhile, the US charge d’affaires Richard Hoagland was summoned to the Pakistani Foreign Office and an official protest was lodged with him. He is reported to have responded that the US government had nothing to do with the film.
The US state department has issued a warning against any non-essential travel to Pakistan.
France has closed its embassies and other official offices in about 20 countries across the Muslim world on Friday after French magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, including two drawings showing him naked.
French Muslim leaders condemned the magazine and said an appeal for calm would be read in mosques across the country on Friday.
Charlie Hebdo sold out on Wednesday but is publishing another 70,000 copies, to coincide with Friday prayers.
In Tunisia – where France is the former colonial power – the government has banned Friday protests.
Calls to protest against the caricatures have turned up in Tunisian social media. Interior Minister Ali Larayedh said it was believed that some groups were planning violent protests after Friday prayers.
There are also fears of violence in the Libyan city of Benghazi after rival groups said they would take to the streets.
One group intends to denounce extremism and urge militias to disband, following an attack on the US consulate in the city on 11 September that killed the US ambassador and three other American officials.
Throughout the week, Benghazi residents have left wreaths and placards condemning the attack outside the US mission.
Meanwhile, Ansar al-Sharia, the jihadist militia blamed by some local people for the attack, called for protests “in defence of the Prophet Muhammad”. Both protests are scheduled for the same time.
In the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, more than 2,000 people protested peacefully in front of the US embassy.
Some protesters were holding signs insisting that insulting religion was not freedom of speech.
In Cairo, where the protests against the film began, Egyptian security forces are patrolling the streets around the US embassy.
Radical Islamists have clashed with security forces there in recent days, although President Mohamed Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood has stayed away from the unrest, only condemning the film and calling for peaceful demonstrations.
The low-budget film that sparked the controversy was made in the US and is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad.
Its exact origins are unclear and the alleged producer for the trailer of the film, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, is in hiding.
Anti-US sentiment grew after a trailer for the film dubbed into Arabic was released on YouTube earlier this month.
