Pakistani protester dies from smoke inhalation after burning US flag
A Pakistani protester holds a burning US flag as others shout slogans during a protest in Multan on October 31, 2011 against US drone attacks in the Pakistani tribal region. Relations between Pakistan and the United States deteriorated after the May 2, 2011 killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US Navy SEALs in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and again over accusations that Pakistani intelligence was involved with the Haqqani network.
Anti-American protesters, take note: burning US flags may be hazardous to your health.
Pakistan's Express Tribune reported today that a Pakistani man perished from smoke inhalation after participating in the charring of a US flag, at an anti-American political protest aimed at the eternally-controversial "Innocence of Muslims" film, an allegation backed up by Forbes.
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The Tribune reported that the deceased was one Abdullah Ismail, who had "complained of feeling unwell from the smoke from US flags burnt at the rally." The demonstration appears to have taken place in the Punjab area of the country.
Protesters at the demonstration demanded that the USA hang all those behind the "Innocence of Muslims" publicy, reported the Tribune, or else they would (somehow) destroy the US consulate.
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The protests appear to have been organized by Jamaat-Ud-Dawa, says the Tribune, the political arm of militant anti-India group Lashkar-e-Taiba—widely thought to be behind the horrifying 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which killed 174.
Flag-burning has been something of a theme the past two weeks, as Muslims protest the exceedingly controversial film, which portrays the Prophet as a womanizing pedophile.
Protesters, be safe out there: if you're going to burn the flag of your sworn enemies, stand well away from the smoke for your own health.
That's a public service message.