Afghans Slam Qur'an Burning by Foreign Troops

KABUL (Press TV) – Large numbers of people have turned up for angry demonstrations in Afghanistan after US-led forces in the war-wracked country burned copies of the Holy Qur’an, Press TV reports.

The angry protesters on Tuesday held protest rallies in Kabul as well as outside the US Bagram Airbase and chanted anti-US slogans, demanding the trial of the perpetrators of the desecrating act.

At least one Afghan protester was injured after US troops opened fire to disperse the angry demonstrators near the airbase, about 60 kilometers north of Kabul.

The protests came after reports emerged saying that foreign troops had burned “a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Qur’ans" at the Bagram Airbase.

Mohammad Nabi, a protester who said he was an employee at the base, told reporters that US troops killed two Afghan employees and fired five more after they protested the burning of the copies of the Holy Qur'an inside the military base.

Meanwhile, similar protests were held in other parts of the capital and several other Afghan cities.

The US commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan in a statement apologized over the insulting move and ordered a full investigation into the incident.

"When we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them," said General John R. Allen.

"The materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious authorities," he added.

"We are thoroughly investigating the incident and we are taking steps to ensure this does not ever happen again. I assure you… I promise you … this was not intentional in any way," he further said.

The US general also expressed his “sincere apologies for any offence this may have caused, to the president of Afghanistan, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and most importantly, to the noble people of Afghanistan.”

In April 2011, at least ten people were killed and several others injured in successive days of protests in Afghanistan over the burning of the Holy Qur’an in the US.

In other news from Afghanistan, an Afghan police attack on US-led troops in southern Afghanistan has left two Albanian soldiers dead and two other foreign troopers injured.

The incident occurred in the southern district of Spin Boldak in Kandahar province, where the troops were reportedly participating in the inauguration of two schools. The occurrence marks Albania's first fatal casualties in Afghanistan.

According to the Albanian defense ministry, 11 Afghan policemen have been detained in the village of Robat where the incident took place.

Another Albanian soldier as well as an American trooper have been wounded in the shooting.

No further details have thus far emerged about the motive behind the incident.

Albania has dispatched 260 troops to Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led mission in the war-ravaged Asian country.

An anti-US protest in Kabul is seen in this file photo.