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Obama apologizes for burning of Quran; Afghan kills 2 US troops
Photo
Afghans shout anti-U.S. slogans during a demonstration in Mehterlam, Laghman province east of Kabul on Thursday. Afghan police fired shots into the air to disperse hundreds of protesters who tried to break into an American military base in the country’s east to vent their anger over this week’s Quran-burning incident.
Associated Press
KABUL
President Barack Obama apologized Thursday for the burning of copies of the Muslim holy book at a U.S. military base this week, as violent protests raging nationwide led a man dressed in an Afghan army uniform to kill two U.S. troops.
The Afghans’ furious response to the Quran burning — three days of riots in several cities nationwide — reflected the anger at what they perceive as foreign forces’ disrespect for Afghan laws and culture.
In a letter sent to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Obama expressed his administration’s “regret and apologies over the incident in which religious materials were unintentionally mishandled,” White House national-security council spokesman Tommy Vietor said. He added that the letter was delivered by Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, on Thursday afternoon.
Karzai’s office said Obama called the Quran burnings “inadvertent,” adding that the U.S. “will take the appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, to include holding accountable those responsible.”
U.S. apologies for the desecration — and an appeal from Karzai for calm — have failed to temper the anger of Afghans, who staged rallies in seven provinces Thursday, sparking clashes with Afghan police and security forces that left at least five demonstrators dead. Seven protesters were killed in clashes Wednesday.
The two NATO service members were killed in eastern Afghanistan by a man dressed in an Afghan army uniform. Both troops were Americans, according to a U.S. official, who confirmed their nationalities on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information.
Mohammad Hassan, an official in Nangarhar province where the shooting took place, said the two Americans were shot by an Afghan soldier after soldiers fired into the air to disperse protesters outside a U.S. base in the Khogyani district. Two protesters also were killed in the ensuing gunfire, Afghan officials said.
A rising number of Afghan security forces, or militants wearing their uniforms, have shot and killed U.S. and NATO service members.
The Taliban on Thursday called on Afghans to attack foreign troops, and their spokesman has issued a statement ordering its commanders to embrace and protect the families of any Afghan policeman or soldier who turns his gun on foreign troops. “Call them heroes,” he said.
Protesters also rioted outside a U.S. base in Mehterlam, the capital of Laghman province. Police broke up a demonstration using water cannons and batons after protesters tried to storm the base.
“Hundreds of our people in Laghman province gathered because of the burning of the holy book by the Americans,” said protester Mohammad Issa.
“Everyone is so emotional. The burning of the Quran broke our hearts, and we are attacking the PRT because they are American,” he said, using the acronym for the provincial reconstruction team.
In Oslo, Norwegian military spokesman Ivar Moen said a Norwegian soldier was wounded after demonstrators threw a hand grenade into a military base in Maimanah, in northwestern Faryab province where Norwegian, Latvian, Afghan and U.S. troops are deployed.
The soldier was wounded after up to 200 demonstrators hurled rocks at the base and shouted epithets. Norwegian troops responded with warning shots and tear gas. Moen said the demonstration was over, but new protests are expected today.
In the city of Baghlan in the north, clashes between police and protesters attacking the police headquarters left one person dead.
Police said 10 officers also were wounded, two from gunshot wounds.