Cartoons cause death, rioting in Libya

BENGHAZI, Libya, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Rioters set fire to an Italian consulate in Libya and 11 people are reported killed in protests over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

An official with the Italian Embassy in Tripoli said there were a number of injuries in the rioting, CNN reported, and the Italian consulate and surrounding area in Benghazi were evacuated.

Meanwhile, the Libyan government "strongly denounced" the actions of those who set fire to the building.

The BBC said security police confronted protesters who set fire to the building in the port city of Benghazi.

The demonstrators were said to be angry at Italian Reforms Minister Roberto Calderoli, who reportedly had been seen on television wearing a T-shirt displaying the drawings of the prophet first published in a Danish newspaper.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has called for his resignation.

The Danish cartoons, one of which depicts the prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb, have sparked violent protests across the Muslim world.