Nine dead in Libyan cartoon protests

Demonstrators protesting about the Prophet Mohammed cartoons set fire to the Italian consulate in Benghazi today in a riot that left nine protesters dead as armed police clashed with the crowd.

Libyan state television showed a part of the consulate building on fire, and firefighters trying to extinguish it.

The Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the first floor of the building had been set on fire after a section of a crowd of more than 1,000 charged into the grounds of the consulate.

In a statement in Rome, the ministry said the consulate was being protected by Libyan security forces.

Libyan television also showed ambulances taking casualties away from the scene and five cars that were severely damaged in the riot.

Security officials said the demonstrators hurled stones and bottles at the consulate, and later entered the grounds and set fire to the building and a consular car.

Police fired shots to try to disperse the crowd, the officials said.