KABUL, Afghanistan?? Six people have been killed during ongoing protests over improper disposal of Muslim holy books at NATO's main base in Afghanistan, officials told NBC News Wednesday.
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Four were killed and 12 injured in Parwan Province, where the Bagram Air Field is located, and there was one death in the capital Kabul and another in the city of Jalalabad, with a total of 23 injured in those two cities.
NBC News reported the protests in Kabul and Jalalabad had ended.
Reuters reported that the American Embassy said its staff were in "lockdown" and travel had been suspended as thousands of people expressed fury over the burning of the Quran, Islam's holy book.
The incident is a public relations disaster for U.S.-led NATO forces fighting Taliban militants ahead of the withdrawal of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.
The U.S. apologized Tuesday for the burning of books, including Qurans, that had been pulled from the shelves of a detention center library adjoining Bagram because they contained extremist messages or inscriptions.
The apology failed to contain the fury. Thousands of Afghans took to the streets on Tuesday and again Wednesday, chanting anti-American slogans.
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Winning the hearts and minds of Afghans is critical to efforts to defeat the Taliban. Similar incidents in the past have caused deep divisions and resentment among Afghans toward the tens of thousands of foreign troops in Afghanistan.
Seven foreign U.N. workers were killed during protests that raged across Afghanistan for three days in April 2011 after a U.S. pastor burned a Koran in Florida.
Video: U.S. apologizes for unintentional Quran burning (on this page)Reuters, citing provincial spokesman Roshan Khalid, said two of the casualties in Parwan province were shot dead by Afghan police while attacking offices.
Afghan health ministry spokesman Ghulam Sakhi Kargar said one person also died in hospital in Kabul from gunshot wounds received during one of two shooting incidents at protests in at least four areas of the capital.
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Shots came from the direction of a foreign military vehicle parked outside a U.S. military base, said a Reuters witness. It is not clear who opened fire. International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) officials said they were unaware of shootings.
Later, wounded protesters along the busy Jalalabad road on the fringe of Kabul said Afghan police had fired on them.
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Mohammad Zahir, head of Kabul police's crimes unit, said the injured in Kabul included the city police chief, Ayoub Salangi, who was hit in the ankle by a stone.
Critics say Western troops often fail to grasp the country's religious and cultural sensitivities. Demonstrations by as many as 2,000 people broke out as word of the find spread.
Police said most injuries were caused by flying stones and sticks hurled by protesters. Demonstrators had charged police lines and nearby military bases at a protest on the edge of Kabul, burning tires and smashing vehicles and building windows.
Protesters shouted "Death to America!" and "Death to (President Hamid) Karzai" in a large demonstration on the outskirts of the Afghan capital.
"When the Americans insult us to this degree, we will join the insurgents," said Ajmal, an 18-year-old protester in Kabul.
Demonstrators set fire to part of a housing compound used by foreign contract workers. A Reuters witness said the fire damaged part of a guesthouse at the Green Village complex, where 1,500 mostly foreign contractors live and work.
Outrage also spilled over in the Afghan parliament, where several members shouted "death to America" inside the legislative chamber.
Muslims consider the Quran the literal word of God and treat each book with deep reverence.
Reuters and NBC News contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46477148/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/
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