ISAF recalls staff amid protests

The commander of the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, US General John Allen, has announced he will recall all personnel working in Afghan ministries in Kabul.

The move came just hours after two American military advisers were killed inside a heavily guarded government building in the capital city on Saturday.

"For obvious force protection reasons, I have ... taken immediate measures to recall all other ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) personnel working in ministries in and around Kabul," Allen said in a statement.

"We are investigating the crime and will pursue all leads to find the person responsible for this attack," Allen said. "The perpetrator of this attack is a coward whose actions will not go unanswered."

Western officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the two advisers, including a lieutenant colonel and a major, were shot at close range in the back of the head.

Taliban Islamist militants claimed responsibility for the killings, saying the attack was carried out in retaliation for the desecrated copies of the Quran found on Tuesday near the largest US base in Afghanistan, Bagram Air Field.

Angry protests

The shootings took place as hundreds took part in anti-US protests for the fifth consecutive day. So far, over 20 people have died in the protests over the burning of the holy book.

Four people died in clashes in Kunduz, where a UN compound was set on fire.

Protesters in the northeastern Laghman province threw rocks at police and tried to attack the home of the provincial governor. In Logar, the AFP news agency reported a police source as saying that 200 people, mostly university students, had taken to the streets voicing anger at the United States and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"They have closed the Kabul-Logar highway and are chanting 'Death to America' and 'Death to Karzai,'" a source told AFP.

On Friday, peaceful protests convinced German forces to withdraw from a base in Taluqan. The soldiers there, around 50, were transferred to Kunduz, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) away. A German Bundeswehr spokesman said the soldiers had been due to pull out of the base by the end of March.

Apology fails to dampen rage

The unrest began on Tuesday, when Afghan workers at the Bagram air base found copies of the Quran and other Islamic texts in a pit where rubbish is burned. The demonstrations continued despite apologies by US President Barack Obama and other senior officials.

US officials said detainees at the prison had been using the texts to exchange messages, but that the materials had been mishandled.

General Allen reacted by issuing a directive ordering all coalition forces in Afghanistan to undergo training for the "identification of religious materials, their significance, correct handling and storage."

sb/pfd (Reuters, AP, AFP)