Video sparks protests across much of Muslim world

The attack in which Jeni Ayris and her 11 colleagues died was carried out by a female suicide bomber, said to be protesting over a controversial video which has led to demonstrations across much of the Muslim world.

Innocence of Muslims was produced in the US and portrays Muhammad as a fraud, womaniser, homosexual and madman.

Riot police clashed yesterday with about 200 protesters at the US consulate in Sydney, Australia.

A US ambassador was killed when the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was stormed by militants suspected of using the protests to stage an assault on the 11th anniversary of the September 11 atrocities.

Muslims demonstrated in more than 20 countries from the Middle East to south-east Asia on Saturday.

In most countries, protests were peaceful, but deadly clashes erupted in several places, with protesters in Sudan and Tunisia attempting to storm Western embassies.

An American fast-food restaurant was set ablaze in Lebanon, and international peacekeepers were attacked in the Sinai.

A 14-minute excerpt from the film was described by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as “an awful internet video that we had nothing to do with”.