(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - As protesters started to leave Hyde Park towards St James station, riot police with batons and shields were waiting for them at the park exit. Protesters began throwing sticks and bottles at the police.

Sydney Riot police, mounted police and uniformed officers pursued protesters down William Street towards Kings Cross as one protester was seen throwing a milk crate at a police car.

The already splintered crowd then broke up further, running through the back streets of Darlinghurst.

Furious protests targeting symbols of US influence flared in cities across the Muslim world on Friday in retaliation for a crude film made in the United States by a right-wing Christian group that ridicules the Prophet Mohammed.

In Sydney, Saturday shoppers looked on in surprise as protesters, including children, shouted "Down, down USA" and waved banners such as "Behead all those who insult the prophet".