E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSAt least six people have been killed amid ongoing violence over the improper disposal of Qurans at NATO's main base in Afghanistan. NBC's Atia Abawi reports.
An investigation into the burning of copies of the Quran at a NATO base in Afghanistan, which sparked deadly protests, could be concluded as early as Thursday, senior military officials said Wednesday.
Seven people were killed in clashes between Afghan security forces and demonstrators across Afghanistan who were angry at the burning of Muslim holy books.
The demonstrations prompted the U.S. to lock down its embassy and bar its staff from traveling.
The burning incident tapped into anti-foreign sentiment fueled by a popular perception that foreign troops disrespect Afghan culture and Islam.
NATO apologized Tuesday for the burning of the books, which had been pulled from the shelves of the Parwan Detention Facility, adjoining Bagram Air Field.
A spokesman for ISAF, the US-led international forces in Afghanistan, said it is still unclear why several Qurans sent to a burn pit for disposal or who gave the orders.
German Gen. Karsten Jacobsen said an ISAF investigation is already under way to determine why and who gave the order to gather up the materials for disposal, and if there was any misconduct those responsible would be held accountable.
Jacobsen offered however that it appears those who gave the order may have been unaware that the Korans and other religious materials were included in the material marked for disposal.
Jacobsen said early reports have not been confirmed that prisoners at the detention facility in Parwan were writing in the Qurans and using the Qurans to pass extremist and inflammatory messages to other prisoners.
Jacobsen added however that "even if that were true, it would not change the violent situation in the streets."
UN: Afghan civilian deaths in war reach record high
He said the Qurans were included in a considerable amount of material sent to the pit for routine burning, and were discovered by local Afghan workers. One of the Afghan laborers burned his hands retrieving the Qurans from the flames.
Jacobsen said that ISAF hopes to release the preliminary results of its investigation by Thursday morning. "The objective is to be as visible and transparent as possible to try to calm the situation" and prevent further violence, he said.
The Afghan Interior Ministry earlier said in a statement that clashes during a protest in the eastern province of Parwan left four people dead. It said an investigation was under way to determine what happened.
The other deaths occurred at a U.S. base outside Kabul, where security guards killed one person, and in Jalalabad and Logar province, the ministry said.
The demonstration in Kabul drew thousands of protesters, who chanted "Death to America," hurled rocks and set tires alight outside a complex that is home to foreign contractors, police and some coalition military forces.
PhotoBlog: Protests spread amid Afghan fury at Quran burning
Nearby, angry demonstrators set a fuel truck ablaze on a main highway running east out of the city, sending black smoke billowing into the air.
In Tuesday's apology, U.S. Gen. John Allen, the top commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said the burning was an inadvertent error. "It was not a decision that was made with respect to the faith of Islam," he said. "It was a mistake. It was an error. The moment we found out about it we immediately stopped and we intervened."
Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News chief Pentagon correspondent, The Associated Press, Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Leave a Comment:
When is America going to realize that muslims will find ANY reason they can to hate us. If it were not for the accidental burning of their book, it would be something else. They are filled with hate because of their "peaceful religion" and are not willing to investigate that their may be a better way to do things. They only know violence. It is inbred into them and taught in their schools from the earliest age possible. It is barbaric, and should be treated as such.
At least we should know that there are no uses in fighting wars in Muslim nations or fighting wars for Saudi Arabia or any other Muslim nation.
NO IRAN, SYRIA or ANY other Muslim nation!
Their friendships are kisses of tortures and deaths!
At the same time, we don't need those Muslims right in the US, Britain, European and other non-Muslim nations. Most of them are liabilities and curses on earth!
They will reduce a place to pieces in no time.
If Muslims hate us so much, why are they in our nations?
They are here for our freedom Jon. Not all of them are bad. Haven't you heard them claim the fastest growing (multiplying?) religion is ROP?
Desert_Fox: Once commies were claiming that they were the fastest growing ideology and so many billions under their rules! Now look for commies.
Even their leaders' statues in the USSR and current Russia are in dumps.
If the followers of Islam don't reform with times, be rest assured even their Mecca/Medina will be something else in decades. Islam will follow communist ideology into dumps!
Time and tide wait for none!
NATO (Europeans- not US)have cultural and ethnic training. Obama adm. hasn't enforced this type of training himself being a Pacific President. Read newssites in Europe and NATO/ISAF forces and how they risk their lives and how Obama adm. is prdocuding such anti-Americanism not seen since the Vietnam War. One does not stoke a hornet's nest and Obama adm. did.
What does it matter? Those who live there will believe whatever they wish regardless of the NATO findings. Occupation of a foreign country is dead wrong.
if we wished to occupy,the idol warship would not stop us.Warshiping a stone,a tree,a hula-hoop,or a book is idol warship.A book can be reprinted-a human life is unique.God created that life.Man created that book.Therefore warshipping and cherishing God's Gift...Life...makes more sense than taking life for a stack of paper.God's Word is spread by God's Messenger...Not by a book.Any liar who twists God's Word can deceive anyone with a well crafted lie.Truth is calm and full of God's Peace.The lie is disruptive,hateful,and has no rest or peace.
Whether we should be there or not is not material. After 10 years over there and numerious examples where muslims go over the deap-end when non-muslims act disrespectfully toward their religion; "we" - the western world - should know how they would react. It was/is the shear act of stupidity to burn/destory any artical/text of religious nature. They should have turned it over to moderate Afgan clerics for them to dispose. The NATO/US officer(s) responsible for this stupidity should be dismissed from the service. However al Qaeda should award them/him/her the Legion of Merit for their service to their cause.
"The demonstrations prompted the U.S. to lock down its embassy and bar its staff from traveling."
This is after ten years of spending huge taxpayers' monies, soldiers killed and injured, most sophisticated weapons and techniques, reconstruction, encouraging moderate elements and trying to keep a backstabbing ally like Pakistan in good humor!
9/11 was due to Saudis, Pakis and UAE. Both 1991 and 2003 Iraqi wars were directed by Saudis & co, oil companies and their lobbyists.
Now on Iran, Israel started the drum beating along with Saudis.
In the US and other nations, their puppets are shrieking and screaming how evil Iran and Syria are!
Many, who can’t locate Iran and Syria on map, are joining them: get them!
SOME NEVER LEARN FROM THE PAST!
Afghanistan is a liability we can't afford to take on. I'm glad we're out of there. Let them go back to living under the Taliban if they want to.
The US/NATO Commander Gen John Allen was the wrong person to speak out about what happened. He didn't use the right words to express the event of it. How in the hell did he become a General? He came off sounding as if we did it by a mistake were guilty & nothing further regardless of a big investigation yet to come. Now another Hornets Nest has arisen, but do without Gen John Allen, he can't speak the right way or even come close. To hear him was an embarrassment. He'll never be a Defense Lawyer that's for sure. I thought we had smarter Generals over there.
The question which needs to be answered is, "Why are books being burned?" I don't care what the book is, there is no good reason for NATO forces to be burning books. If that's what we do as occupiers, we need to leave. Actually, we just need to leave.
There is only 2 reasons for our presence in any foreign land...strategic location and/or resources.Neither are good enough to waste another day listening to archaic opium growers and the brutal power hungry killers who use a religion to further their ambitions.Any religion that exists for the sake of it's own existence rather than for the sake of the souls of the children of God and the chance for God's children to worship him is a lie.
These people are not a rational people or religon. They will find anything they can to use against us. Let them stay in the stone age.
When the time comes that they can become rational (which will be never) then let them ask for outr help.
You cannot help people that do not want to be helped.
lets get out of there and leave them alone.
People that place books over life cannot be reasoned with.