Two killed in Pakistan cartoon riots

THOUSANDS of protesters rampaged through two cities yesterday in Pakistan’s worst violence against the Prophet Mohammed drawings, officials said.

At least two people were killed and 11 injured.

In Lahore, protesters burned down four buildings.

Witnesses said rioters also damaged more than 200 cars and dozens of shops.

A security guard shot and killed two protesters trying to force their way into a bank, Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said.

Mohammed Tariq, a doctor at the state-run Mayo Hospital, said three people were being treated for serious bullet wounds, and eight more suffered injuries.

The protest was organised by a little-known religious group.

The unrest began yesterday in Islamabad when between 1,000 and 1,500 people, mostly students, marched into a diplomatic enclave.

The crowd charged to the British High Commission, where the students rallied until police fired tear gas. They rounded up about 50 protesters. Another protest drew about 4,000 people.