US embassies tighten security

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Afghanistan's leader has put off a foreign trip for fear of violence at home over an anti-Islam film, officials said on Thursday, as anxious governments across Asia stepped up security outside US embassies.

The heightened measures came after Washington's ambassador to Libya was killed during a mob attack in the city of Benghazi on Tuesday, and after anti-US protests in Egypt's capital, Cairo.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, joined Afghanistan in demanding that YouTube block the crudely made film that has triggered the protests with its mocking portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad.

So far, there has been no trouble in Indonesia, where most of the 240 million population practice a moderate form of Islam.

Reaction in Afghanistan, where US-led troops have been waging a decade-long war against the fundamentalist Taliban, has so far been muted. But unwilling to take a risk, President Hamid Karzai postponed his visit to Norway.

Hundreds of Yemeni demonstrators stormed the US embassy in Sanaa on Thursday in protest at the film, and security guards tried to hold them off by firing into the air, witnesses said.

A security source said at least 15 people were wounded, some from bullets, and 12 people were arrested.

On Wednesday, Karzai and US President Barack Obama discussed how to "help ensure that the circumstances that led to the violence in Libya and Egypt do not pose a threat to US forces or Afghans", the White House said.

The low-budget movie, whose director goes by the name Sam Bacile and is believed to be Israeli-American, depicts the Prophet Muhammad sleeping with women.

The film has been promoted by US pastor Terry Jones, who has drawn protests for burning the Koran and vehemently opposing the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York.

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.