Protesters hurl grenades at base

Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan

Demonstrators hurled grenades at a U.S. base in northern Afghanistan, and a gunbattle left two Afghans dead and seven NATO troops injured Sunday in the escalating crisis over the burning of Muslim holy books at an American airfield.

More than 30 people have been killed, including four U.S. troops, in six days of unrest. Still, the top U.S. diplomat in Afghanistan said the violence would not change Washington’s course.

“Tensions are running high here, and I think we need to let things calm down, return to a more normal atmosphere, and then get on with business,” Ambassador Ryan Crocker told CNN. “This is not the time to decide that we’re done here,” he said. “We have got to redouble our efforts. We’ve got to create a situation in which al-Qaida is not coming back.”

The attack on the base came a day after two U.S. military advisers — a lieutenant colonel and a major — were found dead after being shot in the head in their office at the Interior Ministry in the heart of the capital. The building is one of the city’s most heavily guarded buildings, and the slayings raised doubts about safety as coalition troops continue their withdrawal.

The Pentagon released the identity of one of the two U.S. service members who was killed.

The Defense Department says Air Force Lt. Col. John D. Loftis died Saturday from wounds received in the attack at the Interior Ministry in Kabul. The 44-year-old airman was from Paducah, Ky., assigned to the 866th Air Expeditionary Squadron in Kabul.

The incident prompted NATO, Britain and France to recall hundreds of international advisers from all Afghan ministries in the capital. The advisers are key to helping improve governance and preparing the country’s security forces to take on more responsibility.

A manhunt was under way for the main suspect in the shooting — an Afghan man who worked as a driver for an office on the same floor as the advisers who were killed, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said. He did not provide further details about the suspect or his possible motive.