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Police break up anti-US protests in Asian countries

Police broke up violent anti-American protests in several Asian countries on Friday but Arab anger against US-led strikes on Afghanistan was muted as crowds spilled onto the streets after Muslim prayers.

Turnout at demonstrations in the Middle East was lower than expected and there was little violence in the region after the first Friday prayers since the US strikes began.

Earlier, protesters marched in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

"We are ready to die to defend Islam. Kick out the Americans," shouted Indonesian protesters after prayers in the capital of the world's largest Muslim country.

Five nights of US warplanes pounding Afghanistan were taking their toll outside Afghanistan as fears of a Muslim backlash deepened and police across the Muslim world cracked down hard on anti-US protests.

In majority-Hindu India, police fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse thousands of protesting Muslims.

Worshippers poured onto the streets of major cities after prayers shouting anti-US slogans. They burnt effigies of Bush and the British flag, demanding an immediate end to the bombing of Afghanistan that began last Sunday.

"Death to America. Death to Israel. Taliban, Taliban, we salute you," some 10,000 Muslims chanted at the country's biggest mosque, the Jama Masjid in New Delhi.

In the southern city of Hyderabad and in Srinagar, summer capital of Kashmir, Muslims pelted police with stones, and elsewhere crowds chanted anti-American slogans.

In the eastern city of Calcutta, some 4,000 Muslims gathered near a mosque shouting "Long live bin Laden, down with Bush."

"Don't worry [bin Laden], the Muslims will support you in your holy war," they shouted.

Muslims burned US flags in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and set off firecrackers outside the US embassy in Jakarta as demonstrations quickly followed prayers.

In Indonesia, where two hardline Islamic groups have vowed to expel foreigners, police used a water cannon to douse burning US and British flags and an effigy of US President George W. Bush after 1,000 protesters gathered outside the US embassy.

Five people were injured in a protest in the country's second biggest city of Surabaya, but the handful of rallies around the capital were far quieter than radical Muslim groups had threatened.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian police used water cannon to disperse around 3,000 protesters carrying banners reading "Go To Hell America" outside the US embassy -- the biggest protest so far in the mainly Muslim nation since the air strikes began.

Earlier, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said the air strikes should end. The government refused to support the action but has backed the war on terrorism.
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