Dozens injured as police, protesters clash in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Scores of people were injured Saturday in clashes in Bangladesh's capital between police and hundreds of demonstrators, as protests continued in the Muslim world against a film produced in the United States that denigrates Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

In Pakistan, a Cabinet minister offered a $100,000 reward for the death of the filmmaker.

Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Balor urged the Taliban and al-Qaida to perform the "sacred duty" of helping locate and kill the filmmaker.

The film has sparked violent protests throughout the Muslim world that resulted in the deaths of dozens, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

In Bangladesh, police fired tear gas and used batons Saturday to disperse the stone-throwing protesters, who were from about a dozen Islamic groups.

The protesters burned several vehicles, including a police van, witnesses said.

Dozens of protesters were arrested at the demonstration and inside the nearby National Press Club, where participants took refuge, a Dhaka Metropolitan Police official said on condition of anonymity in line with police policy. Police and witnesses said scores were injured.

The clash erupted when authorities attempted to halt the demonstration, police said. Authorities have banned all protests near the city's main Baitul Mokarram mosque since Friday, when more than 2,000 people marched and burned an effigy of President Barack Obama.

The protesters announced a nationwide general strike on Sunday to protest the police action.