Afghan protests against Koran burning enter third day

Feb 23, 2012, 7:02 GMT

Kabul - Afghans took to the streets for the third day Thursday in protest at the alleged burning of copies of the Koran by foreign troops, officials said.

'A thousand or more people are protesting in Bagrami district of Kabul city,' police chief Ayoub Salangi said.

'It is peaceful but we have sent a lot of police so that the situation does not get out of hand.'

On Monday, foreign troops 'improperly disposed' of Islamic religious materials, including copies of the Koran, at the Bagram US air base north of Kabul, officials from the NATO-led coalition said.

The Taliban issued a statement Thursday saying Afghans 'must target military bases of invader forces and military convoys,' and calling on Muslims to 'beat and kill' foreigners, to teach them never to desecrate the Koran again.

The US government and the commander of the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan have apologized for the incident, saying it was 'unintentional,' but that has done little to douse the anger of the protesters.

The troops suspected the copies of the Koran and other religious texts were being used to carry insurgent messages, officials said.

At least nine demonstrators died and dozens of others were injured Wednesday in violent protests across the country.

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