People walk past burning vehicles in Belfast, Northern Ireland Saturday.

Belfast, Northern Ireland ? Protestant extremists threw homemade grenades Saturday and seven police and two civilians were wounded in the fury over a restricted Belfast parade.

Protestants clashed with police, British troops and Catholic crowds in several parts of Belfast after authorities blocked the Orange Order – the territory’s major Protestant brotherhood – from parading past the hard-line Catholic end of disputed Springfield Road.

At least three officers were injured by flames and shrapnel from homemade grenades on the nearby North Circular Road. Four other officers were injured in separate incidents.

Officers on the North Circular Road took cover behind their armored vehicles after hearing bursts of automatic gunfire, although nobody was reported hit by bullets.

The rioting continued for several hours, spreading after nightfall to two predominantly Protestant suburbs of Belfast.

At least two civilians also were injured.