JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Thousands of Muslim students and activists took to the streets of eight Indonesian cities on Thursday, the fourth day of protests against U.S.-led airstrikes in Afghanistan.

About 800 protesters marched through Jakarta's main square to the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy, where police and demonstrators clashed on previous days.

"U.S. equals United Satan," said one banner. The embassy was open on Thursday after being closed for three days because of security concerns.

More than 200 protesters also rallied outside the British Embassy.

Police said they had arrested six people for burning U.S. and British flags. It is crime under Indonesian law to destroy flags.

However, Jakarta police spokesman Lt. Col. Anton Bahrul Alam said there were no plans to arrest Muslim activists who have threatened to round up and expel westerners. The government has condemned the threats.

About 90 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people are Muslim, making it the world's most populous Islamic nation.

But the depth of anti-American sentiment was unclear; despite some violent incidents and threats against westerners, most protests were small and peaceful.

In an analysis released Thursday, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said radical Islam represents only "a small minority of Indonesians but it has the capacity to mobilize people in the streets."

The Indonesian government has said it supports the U.S. war on terrorism, but has also called on Washington to show restraint in its military campaign against Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.

On Thursday in Palu on the island of Sulawesi, a crowd of more than 3,000 people marched in front of a local parliament building, burning U.S. flags and chanting, "Go to hell America!"

Police said many demonstrators were women wearing Islamic headscarves. Others were school children.

About 500 people also protested outside the Japanese consulate in Makassar, also on Sulawesi. In Mataram, on the tourist island of Lombok, 500 people rallied in front of the local parliament.

Smaller protests were also held in the Javanese cities of Surabaya and Yogyakarta.

Muslim groups have staged noisy demonstrations since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They want the government to oppose the airstrikes in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have refused to hand over bin Laden, the main suspect in the attacks.

The government has rejected demands that it suspend diplomatic relations with Washington and has also promised to protect foreigners.

Thursday's protests took place just after outgoing U.S. Ambassador Robert Gelbard paid a farewell visit to President Megawati Sukarnoputri at the state palace in Jakarta. Neither talked to reporters after the meeting.

Recently, Gelbard, whose term in Jakarta ends this week, criticized Indonesian authorities for not doing enough to protect U.S. citizens and interests.