Anti-Islam film: Protests turn violent in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Angry demonstrators set fire to two cinemas in Peshawar on Friday, police and witnesses said, as the country began a day of protests against the anti-Islam film.

One protester was wounded when a cinema guard opened fire as angry crowds armed with clubs and bamboo poles converged on the Firdaus picture house, smashing it up and setting furniture ablaze, police officer Gohar Ali said.

Witnesses said a rampaging crowd stormed the Shama cinema, smashing windows and setting it on fire.

Meanwhile protesters damaged the Chamber of Commerce in the city, while in a firing incident on GT Road, an employee of a private TV channel was killed and seven others were injured.

Overall seven people lost their lives in the city on Friday and several others were injured.

Authorities in Peshawar used shipping containers to block roads leading to the US consulate, the offices of Western aid organisations and other sensitive buildings.