Mobs attack mosque in protest over hostage deaths

THOUSANDS of people rampaged through Kathmandu, setting fire to a mosque and Arab targets and ransacking employment agencies after 12 Nepalese hostages were murdered in Iraq.

Two men were shot and slightly wounded by security guards when they tried to storm the Egyptian embassy, which represents Iraqi interests in the Himalayan kingdom, police said.

The streets returned to normal after the government clamped an indefinite curfew and declared a national day of mourning today for the victims of the worst hostage massacre since the US-led invasion.