Afghan Korans burnt ‘inadvertently’ says NATO

As protests spread across Afghanistan over foreign troops burning the Koran, the violence has left at least six people dead.

There are reports that demonstrators were killed after western security contractors shot at the crowds in Kabul.

Tension has not been calmed by the findings of an investigation into the Koran burning carried out by the head of the country’s NATO forces.

ISAF spokesman Carsten Jakobson explained what happened.

“Material, (the Korans), was inadvertently given to troops for burning. The decision to burn this material has nothing to do with it being of a religious nature or related to Islam. It was just a mistake,” Jakobsen said.

There are also reports the Korans were mistakenly desecrated because they were being used to pass extremist messages between detainees, and during the process of destruction it was not realised that they were holy books.

Similar protests in Afghanistan led to the deaths of four Nepalese guards and three UN workers last April.

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