British, German and US embassies targeted as protests against anti-Islam film continue to spread throughout Muslim world

British, German and US embassies have been targeted today as protests against an anti-Islam film continued to spread.

Protesters furious at a film they believe is blasphemous towards Islam have this afternoon attacked German and British embassies in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

Demonstrators started fires, smashed windows and tore down the German flag and raised an Islamic banner in its place.

The US, meanwhile, has put all of its diplomatic missions overseas on high alert.

The concern follows an attack against the US consulate in Libya on Tuesday in which killed four Americans, including the US ambassador.

Throughout the week there have been protests across the Muslim world including, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Libya, Sudan and Egypt.

In Afghanistan hundreds of people also held a protest in the eastern city of Jalalabad.

In Indonesia a crowd chanted 'Death to Jews' and 'Death to America' in a peaceful protest outside the US embassy.

They waved black flags and held signs that read: "America has to be responsible for Islamophobia worldwide" as they marched in Jakarta, capital of the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, around twenty protesters shouted "Allahu Akbar" and expressed their fury over the film.

In Cairo, police had to fire tear gas to keep back protesters attempting to gain access to the US embassy.

Egypt's President Mohammed Mursi has called for protests to remain peaceful.

There were clashes also reported in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Protesters in Tripoli, Lebanon, set fire to a branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken prompting clashes with security forces.

Yesterday the US was also moving two destroyers off the coast of North Africa, giving the US military further options in the event they are needed.

A team of elite marines were also sent to Libya.

In Libya today the airspace above Benghazi airport temporarily closed for unspecified security reasons.

Fears are continuing to grow that further attacks could follow Friday prayers, a traditional time for protest in the Middle East and North Africa.

Update on protests...

AP

Protests have spread throughout the Muslim world over an anti-Islam film ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed. Here is the latest picture from the various flashpoints.

:: Lebanon

Security forces opened fire in the north-eastern Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing one person after a crowd angry over the film set fire to a KFC and a Hardee's restaurant. About 25 people were wounded in the melee, including 18 policemen who were hit with stones and glass.

:: Sudan

Several hundred protesters stormed the German Embassy in the capital, Khartoum, burning a car parked behind its gates and rubbish bins. Police fired tear gas, pushing the protesters outside the embassy's gates. There appeared to be no injuries to embassy staff and no apparent damage to the building. Most protesters dispersed, but a group marched to protest at the nearby British Embassy. Later police reportedly opened fire on protesters trying to climb the walls of the US Embassy.

:: Yemen

Security forces shot live rounds in the air and fired tear gas at a crowd of around 2,000 protesters trying to march to the US Embassy in the capital, Sanaa. Police kept the crowd about a block away from the embassy. The demonstration came a day after hundreds stormed the embassy compound and burned the American flag.

:: Egypt

Riot police clashed with hundreds of protesters blocks away from the US Embassy in Cairo, as the president broadcast an appeal to Muslims to protect embassies and tried to patch up strained relations with Washington. After weekly prayers, a crowd in Cairo's Tahrir Square tore up an American flag, and waved a black Islamist flag. When protesters tried to move toward the embassy, ranks of police confronted them, firing tear gas.

:: Iran

Thousands shouted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" in Tehran in a demonstration after Friday prayers. Some burned the American and Israeli flags. State TV said similar protests were held in other Iranian cities.

:: Bahrain

More than 2,000 protesters chanted against the film and burned American and Israeli flags after Friday prayers in a Shiite mosque in Diraz, outside the capital, Manama. Security forces were absent, even though the area is a hotbed of opposition in Bahrain's 19-month Shiite-led uprising against the Sunni ruling system. Separately, Bahrain's interior ministry ordered media regulators to attempt to block access to the film clip in the Gulf kingdom.

:: Iraq

Hundreds demonstrated in Baghdad's northern Sunni neighbourhood of Azamaiyah, some shouting: "No, no America. No, no to Israel" and "We are ready to sacrifice ourselves for our Prophet." Dozens also marched in Baghdad's Sadr City, a poor Shiite area in the capital's north east. In the southern city of Basra, about 1,000 took to the streets and burned the American and Israeli flags. One banner said: "Freedom doesn't mean offending two billion Muslims."

:: Tunisia

A crowd of several thousand demonstrators protested outside the US embassy in Tunis. Police responded to stone-throwing with tear gas. An AP reporter on the scene witnessed several people overcome by intense clouds of gas. An army helicopter flew overhead while armoured vehicles protected the embassy.

:: Israel

Police said about 400 people marched toward the US consulate in east Jerusalem. Demonstrators threw bottles and stones at police, who responded by firing stun grenades. Four protesters were arrested and the crowd was prevented from reaching the US consulate.

:: West Bank

In the city of Nablus, about 200 people demonstrated against the film as Muslim clerics throughout the territory preached against it in Friday sermons.

:: Syria

About 200 protesters waved the Syrian flag and shouted anti-American slogans outside the long-closed US Embassy in Damascus. The crowd held banners saying: "He who curses the Prophet doesn't seek democracy" and "A nation whose Prophet is Mohammed would never kneel down." The US embassy has been closed since February because of the country's bloody conflict which has killed about 23,000 people.

:: Afghanistan

About 1,500 protested in the eastern city of Jalalabad, shouting "Death to America" and urged president Hamid Karzai to cut relations with the US.

:: Pakistan

Hundreds of hardline Muslims held peaceful protests against the film throughout Pakistan, shouting slogans and carrying banners criticising the US and those involved in the film. Police in Islamabad set up barricades and razor wire to prevent protesters from getting to the diplomatic enclave, where the US embassy and many other foreign missions are located. Protests were also held in Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore, where protesters shouted "Down with America" and some burned the US flag. About 200 policemen and barbed wire ringed the US consulate in Lahore.

:: UK

In London, around 250 protesters marched noisily but peacefully to the US embassy. The group, which called itself the "Defenders of The Prophet", held placards denouncing the US and perceived Western imperialism.

:: Turkey

Hundreds of people gathered in Istanbul's Beyazit Square to protest, organised by Turkey's main Islamist political party, Saadet.

:: Malaysia

About 20 protesters held a peaceful demonstration outside the US Embassy in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. They briefly shouted "Allahu akbar" or God is great, and handed reporters a letter addressed to the American ambassador expressing anger over the movie and calling for greater respect for religions.