Violent anti-US protest erupts in Afghan capital

More than 1,000 Afghans staged a violent protest against a US-made film mocking the Prophet Mohammed in Kabul on Monday, setting fire to cars and shouting “Death to America”, police said.

The demonstration erupted on Jalalabad Road, home to NATO and US military bases in the eastern part of the Afghan capital, with two police cars among those set ablaze, Kabul police chief Mohammad Ayoub Salangi told AFP.

Gunmen from the crowd opened fire at police, but no one was hurt, police said. “We have not shot back and we won’t,” Salangi said.

An AFP photographer said burning tyres sent thick black smoke streaming into the sky and large stones littered the road as shopkeepers in the area hurriedly locked up and ran away.