Protesters firing petrol bombs and slingshots besieged the largest U.S.-run military base in Afghanistan on Tuesday, February 21, furious over reports that NATO troops had set fire to copies of the Koran, AFP reported.
The enraged crowd shouted "Death to Americans" and "Death to infidels" as guards at Bagram airbase, north of Kabul, responded by firing rubber bullets from a watchtower.
Hundreds of other people protested in the Afghan capital as security forces dispatched reinforcements in a bid to stop the demonstrations from spiralling out of control in the fiercely conservative Islamic country.
The U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, apologised and ordered an investigation into a report that troops "improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Korans".
Allegations that NATO troops at Bagram had set fire to copies of the Muslim holy book were first reported by Afghans working at the base, a senior government official said.
A local police official said more than 2,000 people were demonstrating outside the sprawling U.S.-run Bagram base at one stage. Sediq Sediqqi, an interior ministry spokesman, said that by early afternoon the demonstration was under control and there was no further violence.
Another protest by about 500 people broke out in the Pul-e-charkhi district of Kabul not far from major NATO bases on the Jalalabad road, police spokesman Ashamat Estanakzai said. That was also brought under control and the crowd later dispersed, he said.
Last April, 10 people were killed and dozens of others were injured during days of unrest unleashed by the burning of a Koran by American pastor Terry Jones in Florida.
