video transcript

(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION) Hundreds took part in an anti-Islam film protest in Sydney in front of the U.S. consulate on Saturday (September 15), surprising shoppers and catching police off guard. The protest quickly amassed into a group of 500 people carrying signs and chanting slogans in defence of the Prophet Mohammad. "We are defending our Prophet Mohammed, we are defending His honour," said an unidentified protester. Several streets were closed as the protesters clashed with police. They threw bottles and trash at hundreds of police who tried to contain the demonstration using police dogs and capsicum spray. A number of participants were detained, and police said they would continue to monitor the situation in Hyde Park, where the protesters gathered. The Sydney protest follows several days of anti-U.S. anger around the world over the amateurish film "Innocence of Muslims". The film, with its obscure origin, is thought to have triggered the attack on the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi that killed the ambassador and three other Americans on September 11. A local Muslim leader addressed the protesters in Sydney's Hyde Park and called for calm.