Muslim riots spread:

Western missions under siege

PAKISTAN: Thousands of Pakistanis attempted to storm Islamabad's diplomatic enclave on Thursday, as anger mounted across the Muslim world over perceived Western insults to the Prophet Mohammed.

Similar demonstrations took place in several countries, as the anger that erupted when a US group of Christian extremists released a crudely-made film attacking Mohammed was further stoked by caricatures in a French magazine.

In a foretaste of what might come when tens of millions of Muslims leave their mosques on Friday after weekly prayers, crowds in Nigeria, Iran and Afghanistan chanted: “Death to France. Death to America. Death to Israel.”

In Islamabad, police fired teargas and live rounds as they defended the heavily-guarded diplomatic district, home to Western embassies including the US, British and French missions, against mobs of club-wielding protesters. Dozens of officers were wounded and a police post burnt to the ground before army troops were eventually called in to disperse the protesters, who had breached a wall of shipping containers designed to hold them back.

Western missions are on high alert as the United States investigates a deadly attack on one of its consulates in Libya, and ahead of Friday's prayers, which are often a prelude to protest in the Muslim world.

AFP