Twenty-four of Egypt's security forces sustained injuries while attempting to protect the US embassy as clashes continue with protesters, an Interior Minister source told the Middle East News Agency (MENA), Thursday.

Twenty-three protesters have also been arrested, the source added.

Egypt's forces were commissioned to step up security surrounding the US embassy in downtown Cairo by building wire fences around the premises, late Wednesday evening. This action enflamed protesters, who started throwing rocks and Molotovs causing further injuries to security personnel, the source claimed.

Protesters consequently attacked two police vehicles in nearby streets with flaming bottles, the source alleged, which led policemen to respond by forcing protesters to disperse. The fire was quickly put out.

Clashes at the US embassy in Cairo erupted late Wednesday, as around 200 protesters and Central Security Forces (CFS) started throwing rocks back and forth.

The protesters had already gathered at the embassy headquarters since Tuesday, answering a call to protest an anti-Islam film reportedly produced by a California-based filmmaker called Sam Bacile. An AP report, however, indicated later that Bacile may be a pseudonym for a Coptic-Christian living in California.

On Tuesday, the demonstrators also took down the American flag from the walls of the US embassy in protest.