KABUL (dpa): One US soldier and an Afghan protester were killed in the latest violence on the sixth day of Koran burning protests criss-crossing Afghanistan, despite another plea for calm by President Hamid Karzai. Karzai renewed his calls in a televised address on Sunday. He also asked the United States to punish those responsible for the accidental burning of the Koran by US soldiers at Bagram air base. “Our people's emotion in this regard is legitimate and respectable,” Karzai said. But while we “share their sorrow, we should all try to keep calm.” Meanwhile, one US soldier and one Afghan protester were killed Sunday in a hand grenade attack in northern Afghanistan during a protest against Koran burning, officials said. “Twenty thousand people took to the streets in Imam Saheb District in the northern province of Kunduz to protest against the burning of the Koran,” Sayed Sarwar Hussaini, the provincial deputy police chief said. “The protesters tried to storm a military base of the international forces in the district. Some of the protesters were armed and threw hand grenades inside the base, resulting in the death of one US soldier and one Afghan protester,” Hussaini said, adding six US soldiers were also injured. Fifteen Afghan policemen, including the district police chief, were injured, he said. The NATO-led coalition confirmed that an explosion had occurred in an ISAF installation in northern Afghanistan, but said there were no fatalities. More than 32 people, including five US soldiers, have already been killed in violent protests sparked by the Koran-burning incident earlier in the week, which US officials have called a mistake. On Saturday, two US military advisers were shot dead inside the Afghan Interior Ministry building in Kabul. A 25-year-old Afghan intelligence officer has been identified as “the main suspect” in the killing, officials said Sunday. Abdul Saboor joined the police force two years ago and had one of the highest security clearances in the ministry. He is now believed to be on the run, a senior Afghan official said, on a condition of anonymity. Security forces have already raided his house in the north-eastern province of Parwan, just north of Kabul, and have detained several of his relatives, local television Tolo reported. Saboor had served in several Afghan ministries and had worked at the Interior Ministry for some time, officials said. Investigators have not yet formally linked the killing to the incident, but it followed Taliban calls for revenge. The group claimed responsibility on Saturday. Following the killing, NATO-led international forces recalled their personnel working at various Afghan ministries. Karzai in the television address called the killing of the US soldiers “unfortunate” and “regretful.” He said the recalling of the NATO personnel was “a temporary measure”. “In situations like the burning of the Holy Koran, Afghan people show sentiments, if this was the reason for the recall, it is rational and if there are other security reasons involved, it is then up to them and we do not disagree on that,” Karzai said. “Later, once the issue (burning of Koran) is determined through proper investigation and once it is established on who was responsible for the crime, the (recall) issue would be resettled.” BM with Subel Bhandari ShortURL: http://goo.gl/xHedW Tags: featured, ISAF, Karzai, Koran burning, NATO Section: East Asia, Features, Latest News
