Feb 21

The Guardian - US and Nato forces have rushed to apologise for discarding and possibly burning copies of the Qur'an, as thousands of furious Afghans gathered to protest outside Bagram military airbase.

Some carried ancient hunting rifles and others used slingshots to pelt the outer walls of the airbase with stones for several hours, shouting "down with America" and other slogans, despite the bitter cold.

The crowd swelled to between two and three thousand, and police stationed on roads leading to the base turned back other would-be protesters from further away, according to Parwan provincial police chief General Mohammad Akram Bekzad.

Any destruction of, or damage to, Islam's holy book is an extremely sensitive issue in Afghanistan, and has sparked violent and sometimes deadly riots in the past.

As details of the apparent burning emerged, a speedy and unusually heartfelt statement was issued by the top US and Nato general in Afghanistan, apologising and promising an inquiry – seemingly designed to try and contain the spreading outrage.

"I assure you … I promise you … this was NOT intentional in any way," General John Allen said in a statement addressed to the "noble people of Afghanistan".

Copies of the Qur'an taken from prisoners at the airbase had been handed over for incineration late on Monday, and were spotted by Afghan workers, according to Afghan and western officials.

It is routine practice to burn waste documents on military bases in Afghanistan, and police chief Bekzad said the copies of the Qur'an were discarded together with many other papers.