MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (AFP) - Violent protests against caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed escalated, with four demonstrators killed during an attack on NATO troops in Afghanistan and a renewed assault against the Danish embassy in Tehran.
Nine people have been killed since protests erupted worldwide, seven in Afghanistan, and one each in Somalia and Lebanon.
Denmark, where the 12 offending cartoons were first published, absorbed the brunt of Muslim anger, with attacks on diplomatic outposts, threats of economic boycotts, and the expulsion of Danish aid organizations from Chechyna.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that US President George W. Bush had called him to give his backing.
"President Bush called me on the telephone to express his support and reiterated the support already received from the US, which we very much appreciate," Rasmussen told a news conference in Copenhagen.
"We hope the international community will be able, together, to find a peaceful solution to this crisis," he said.
Attempts by Western leaders, religious figures and international bodies to appease Muslims infuriated by what they see as the blasphemous portrayal of their prophet seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, as anti-Western protests remained virulent.
Several hundred demonstrators took to the streets of Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus Christ. Protestors chanted slogans calling for Denmark to apologize and set fire to Danish and American flags in Manger Square, close to the Church of the Nativity where tradition holds that Christ was born.
Positions in the West hardened too, with key officials expressing impatience with the continuing violence and demanding that foreign governments protect their embassies and consulates from rampaging mobs.
A few have suggested that some Muslim states -- Iran and Syria in particular -- have needlessly inflamed religious passions.
Russian media speculated that current tensions between the United States and Iran could be behind the wave of protests.
"It is logical to think that Iran, which would like to become the leader of the Islamic world, aspires to the role of Islamic leader and is demonstrating Muslims' power to all," the country's largest circulation newspaper, Komsomolskaya Pravda, said.
The Afghan protestors were killed Tuesday when some 700 demonstrators attacked Norwegian NATO troops in the northwestern town of Maymana, lobbing grenades into their compound. Three Afghan protesters were killed Monday.
In Tehran, demonstrators throwing firebombs briefly stormed into the Danish embassy for a second consecutive day, with 20 to 30 protestors scaling the compound walls and another 300 outside hurling stones and Molotov cocktails.
Besides summoning ambassadors of Denmark, Norway and Austria to express its anger over the caricatures, Iran has also announced a total ban on Danish imports as well as any other business dealings with the country "until further notice."
The Tehran authorities had asked their citizens not to attack embassies, after the second assault on the Danish mission, the state news agency IRNA reported.
"(The authorities) have told the Iranian people not to attack diplomatic territory," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on state television. "Nevertheless, Western countries should atone for their mistake."
The European Commission reacted Tuesday by slamming Iran's decision, and also confirmed that talks on boosting EU-Iranian trade would remain suspended until the escalating dispute over Tehran's nuclear plans is resolved.
Denmark, which remained the top target for protests, scrambled Tuesday to protect its nationals and cope with the diplomatic fallout of the cartoon crisis.
Chechnya's deputy prime minister and local strongman Ramzan Kadyrov banished Danish aid organizations late Monday, adding that he would "not to allow into Chechnya anything that comes from Denmark."
Western leaders have sought a middle ground between mollifying Muslim outrage and upholding free speech principles, but several statements this week suggested that patience with the protests may be wearing thin.
"Violence is no way to settle a disagreement," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday, even as she underscored the need for reasoned discussion and calm.
In Italy, Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini suggested that worldwide Muslim protests against the satirical depictions of the Prophet Mohammed were being "orchestrated."