Militants claim Afghan attack is revenge for film

"Violence is not tolerated, no matter where it comes from, and can in no way be justified," he said. "We will strictly enforce the law against those implicated in the ongoing investigation."

Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, told Parliament's Foreign Affairs committee that the film was contemptible but that it was no excuse for violence.

"I therefore welcome the clear condemnation (of the violence) from leaders, including what are generally termed Islamist leaders, across the region," he said. He characterized the crisis as a difficult step in a democratic evolution that will last generations.

In Pakistan, hundreds of angry protesters broke through a barricade outside the U.S. Consulate in the northwest city of Peshawar, sparking clashes with police that left several wounded on both sides, said police officer Arif Khan.

In Kashmir's main city of Srinagar, a strike shut down businesses and public transportation as marchers burned U.S. flags and an effigy of President Barack Obama. Police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse protesters, who hurled rocks at the troops, according to police.

In Indonesia, about 200 people from various Islamic groups torched an American flag outside the U.S. Consulate in the city of Medan. Some unfurled banners saying, "Go to hell America," while others trampled on dozens of paper flags.

Also, 100 Muslim students in Makassar, in central Indonesia, called for the death penalty against the filmmaker, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. Some 400 people protested peacefully outside the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand's capital.

The government in Bangladesh blocked YouTube to prevent people from seeing the video. YouTube was also inaccessible in Saudi Arabia after King Abdullah ordered the blocking of all websites with access to the film. Google has blocked access to the video in Libya, Egypt, Indonesia and India because it says the video broke laws in those countries.

Torchia reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan; Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India; and David Stringer in London contributed.