4 Afghans die in anti-cartoon riots

Hundreds of Afghans clashed with police and soldiers Monday during demonstrations against the publication of cartoons of Islam's prophet, Muhammad.

Four people were killed and at least 19 wounded, officials said. The worst of the violence was outside Bagram, the main U.S. Base in Afghanistan, with Afghan police firing on some 2,000 protesters as they tried to break into the heavily guarded facility, said Kabir Ahmed, the local government chief.

Two of the demonstrators were killed and five wounded, while eight police were also hurt, he said. The protesters threw stones at the base and smashed a guard post. Some of those in the crowd then shot at the base with assault rifles, prompting the police to return fire, he said.

A U.S. Military spokesman, Lt. Mike Cody, said U.S. Troops did not fire on the crowd and that security was left to the Afghan police.

Provincial governor Abdul Jabar Taqwa said the protest started peacefully in nearby Chararikar city, and claimed foreign infiltrators with guns had incited the crowd when the protest moved to Bagram.

"I am sure the Taliban and al-Qaeda were behind this," he said.

Fire exchanged

In the central Afghan city of Mihtarlam, police fired on the demonstrators after a man shot at them and others threw stones and knives, said Dad Mohammed Rasa, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Two protesters were killed, and three other people were wounded - two of them police, one of whom was stabbed by a thrown knife, officials said. The protesters burned tires and threw stones at the offices of the police and provincial governor.

Meanwhile, about 200 protesters tried to break down the gate of the Danish government's diplomatic mission office in the capital Kabul, but failed, said police who were guarding the building.

The protesters then threw stones at the mission and beat some officers guarding it, as well as some guards at a nearby house used by Belgian diplomats. Police later used batons and rifle butts to disperse the demonstrators who had walked toward the presidential palace. An Associated Press reporter saw at least three protesters bleeding from injuries, and at least seven more who were arrested and driven away in a police vehicle. "Long live Islam! We are Muslims! We don't let anyone insult our prophet!" Chanted the demonstrators, many of whom appeared to be teenagers. They also chanted, "Down with America!" And slogans against the Afghan and U.S. Presidents.

Windows smashed

Some protesters moved toward the main American base in city and threw stones that smashed windows of a guard house. Police standing amid the protesters watched but did not intervene.

U.S. Soldiers later arrested two photographers outside the base and checked the memory discs of an AP photographer, but did not arrest him. Cody, the U.S. Military spokesman, said he had no details about the matter. The demonstrators also stoned three vehicles belonging to NATO-led peacekeepers that were abandoned along a street in the center of the city.

Thousands of other people demonstrated peacefully in at least five other Afghan cities on Monday - swelling the size of protest seen across the country on Sunday. The cartoons were first published in a Danish newspaper in September, and more drawings have recently been printed in other European papers, either to illustrate the controversy or demonstrate support for freedom of the press. But Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, favorable or otherwise, to prevent idolatry.

Protests have erupted in several Muslim nations in the past week. In Taluqan, more than 2,000 people marched through the northern city and threw stones at a government building and police posts.

In southern Kandahar city, about 200 protesters emerged from a mosque and made their way through a bazaar. Many chanted "Death to Denmark" While carrying white, red and green flags inscribed with "Allah-u-Akbar" Or "God is great."

They included about 40 women - a rare occurrence in the conservative city where women normally stay in their homes.