THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Furious protesters firing petrol bombs and slingshots have besieged the largest US-run military base in Afghanistan after reports that Nato troops had set fire to copies of the Koran.
The enraged crowd shouted "Death to Americans" and "Death to infidels" at guards at Bagram airbase, north of Kabul. The guards responded by firing rubber bullets on the crowd, said an AFP photographer, who was hit in the neck.
US helicopters fired flares to try to break up as many as 2,000 demonstrators who massed outside several gates to the base.
Hundreds of other people protested in the Afghan capital as security forces dispatched reinforcements in a bid to stop the demonstrations from spiralling out of control in the fiercely conservative Islamic country.
The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, apologised and ordered an investigation into a report that troops "improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Korans". » | Source: agencies | Tuesday, February 21, 2012
THE GUARDIAN: 'Qur'an burning' at Bagram base sparks protest – in pictures » | Tuesday, February 21, 2012
