02-24-2012, 07:50 AM
We just can't leave these guys alone, can we? Tell me again how this isn't about religious war: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17152705
![[Image: _58692355_afghanistan_protests_624_2t.gif]](http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58692000/gif/_58692355_afghanistan_protests_624_2t.gif)
Excerpt: "At least eight people have died as protests continue for a fourth day in Afghanistan over the burning of Korans by American troops at a US air base.
Seven people were killed in the western province of Herat, officials said.
Another protester died in the Pul-e-Khumri district of Baghlan province when a reconstruction office came under attack.
On Thursday US President Barack Obama apologised to the Afghan people, saying the burnings were a "genuine mistake".
On Friday, a group of demonstrators tried to attack the US consulate in Herat, burning police vehicles and leaving several officers injured, security sources told the BBC.
Three people were killed in the city, with another four reported dead in other parts of Herat province.
The latest deaths bring the toll from protests in recent days to at least 20, including two US soldiers.
Protests were reported around the country on Friday:
* Five separate groups were heading to different locations in Kabul, including Nato headquarters and the US Embassy, police said, with one protestor reported wounded when police fired into the air. Some 300 people were heading towards Kabul's main military training centre, security sources told the BBC
* About 1,000 people were on the streets in Baghlan
* In Ghazni, 600 demonstrators gathered outside the governor's office shouting "death to Obama"
* About 300 protesters turned out in Kunduz province
* Several thousand people protesting in Nangarhar blocked a highway
* A demonstration in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, is now reported to be over
* A demonstration was reported in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif
German troops are also moving from a small base in Takhar province to a larger facility in neighbouring Kunduz province because of protests.
'Major error'
Earlier on Friday, Nato commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Allen, appealed for calm.
"I call on everyone throughout the country - Isaf members and Afghans - to exercise patience and restraint as we continue to gather the facts," Gen Allen said in a statement.
"Working together with the Afghan leadership is the only way for us to correct this major error and ensure that it never happens again," he said.
In a letter to President Hamid Karzai sent on Thursday, Mr Obama expressed his "deep regret".
He also assured the Afghan president that US authorities would question all those responsible.
On Thursday President Karzai told members of the Afghan parliament that a US officer was responsible for the burning, but said it was done out of "ignorance".
But the various apologies proffered by Nato and the US have not cooled the anger on the streets, the BBC's Orla Guerin in Kabul reports.
Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each book with deep reverence.
On Thursday the Taliban had called on Afghans to attack "invading forces" in revenge for "insulting" the Koran.
In a statement a Taliban spokesman said Afghans should "not stop at protesting" but instead target military bases and personnel to "teach them a lesson that they will never again dare to insult the Holy Koran".
Last year, at least 24 people died in protests across Afghanistan after a hardline US pastor burned a Koran in Florida."
Excerpt: "At least eight people have died as protests continue for a fourth day in Afghanistan over the burning of Korans by American troops at a US air base.
Seven people were killed in the western province of Herat, officials said.
Another protester died in the Pul-e-Khumri district of Baghlan province when a reconstruction office came under attack.
On Thursday US President Barack Obama apologised to the Afghan people, saying the burnings were a "genuine mistake".
On Friday, a group of demonstrators tried to attack the US consulate in Herat, burning police vehicles and leaving several officers injured, security sources told the BBC.
Three people were killed in the city, with another four reported dead in other parts of Herat province.
The latest deaths bring the toll from protests in recent days to at least 20, including two US soldiers.
Protests were reported around the country on Friday:
* Five separate groups were heading to different locations in Kabul, including Nato headquarters and the US Embassy, police said, with one protestor reported wounded when police fired into the air. Some 300 people were heading towards Kabul's main military training centre, security sources told the BBC
* About 1,000 people were on the streets in Baghlan
* In Ghazni, 600 demonstrators gathered outside the governor's office shouting "death to Obama"
* About 300 protesters turned out in Kunduz province
* Several thousand people protesting in Nangarhar blocked a highway
* A demonstration in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, is now reported to be over
* A demonstration was reported in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif
German troops are also moving from a small base in Takhar province to a larger facility in neighbouring Kunduz province because of protests.
'Major error'
Earlier on Friday, Nato commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Allen, appealed for calm.
"I call on everyone throughout the country - Isaf members and Afghans - to exercise patience and restraint as we continue to gather the facts," Gen Allen said in a statement.
"Working together with the Afghan leadership is the only way for us to correct this major error and ensure that it never happens again," he said.
In a letter to President Hamid Karzai sent on Thursday, Mr Obama expressed his "deep regret".
He also assured the Afghan president that US authorities would question all those responsible.
On Thursday President Karzai told members of the Afghan parliament that a US officer was responsible for the burning, but said it was done out of "ignorance".
But the various apologies proffered by Nato and the US have not cooled the anger on the streets, the BBC's Orla Guerin in Kabul reports.
Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each book with deep reverence.
On Thursday the Taliban had called on Afghans to attack "invading forces" in revenge for "insulting" the Koran.
In a statement a Taliban spokesman said Afghans should "not stop at protesting" but instead target military bases and personnel to "teach them a lesson that they will never again dare to insult the Holy Koran".
Last year, at least 24 people died in protests across Afghanistan after a hardline US pastor burned a Koran in Florida."
![[Image: kn022312dAPR20120224124517.jpg]](http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Car/b/kn022312dAPR20120224124517.jpg)
