Police in Pakistan were forced to use tear gas on violent protesters who were holding rallies against the cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad in Danish and other newspapers.
The demonstrators stormed the heavily guarded diplomatic enclave in Islamabad. They also attacked a McDonald's and set fire to both a KFC restaurant and an outlet store for the Norwegian mobile phone company Telenor.
The protests turned increasingly violent and vehicles were set on fire in and around Islamabad according to eyewitness accounts.
One bank in downtown Islamabad came under attack and the guards shot two of the rioters and killed them. Small arms fire was reported near and around the provincial assembly.
Protesters shouted slogans like 'Death to Denmark' and 'Expel European ambassadors.'
Eventually, police resorted to water cannons to disperse student protesters just outside the diplomatic enclave, not far from the French embassy.
Protesters tore down portraits of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, shouting 'Traitors, Traitors.'
Additional protests and planned and Islmamists have shown no signs of letting up. A general strike has been planned in Pakistan by Islamist leaders for March 3.
