PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Several thousand protesters shouting antimilitary slogans displayed the bodies of 15 local villagers on Wednesday in northwestern Pakistan, claiming they were shot dead in their homes by security forces in an overnight raid.

The outcry came as thousands of supporters of a fiery Muslim cleric continued their antigovernment protest for a third day in Islamabad, paralyzing key areas of the capital. The interior minister warned that the government could take ‘‘targeted action’’ if the demonstrators did not leave the city by Thursday, but later backed off the threat after he was contradicted by the president.