Pakistani protesters shout anti-U.S. slogans at a rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan's government had called for a day of peaceful protests -- but the demonstrations across much of Pakistan today against the anti-Muslim film produced in the United States have been anything but peaceful.
At least 17 people are dead after police fired tear gas and live ammunition at thousands of demonstrators who threw rocks and set fire to buildings.
U.S. diplomats had earlier tried to reduce the anger in Pakistan by paying for ads on Pakistani TV that showed President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton denouncing the film.
Muslims also marched today in at least a half-dozen other countries to protest the film. Some burned American flags and effigies of Obama. The deaths of at least 47 people, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, have been linked to violence over the film throughout the Muslim world.
In Pakistan, officials say today's deadliest violence occurred in Karachi, where at least 12 people were killed and over 80 wounded.
An Interior Ministry official says the government temporarily blocked cellphone service in 15 major cities today to keep militants from using phones to set off bombs during the protests.