TWO WESTERNERS HAVE been shot dead in Afghanistan during the fifth day of rioting in the country over the burning of Qur’ans at a US military base.
The men, reportedly American foreign advisers, were killed at the heavily guarded Interior Ministry where they worked in the capital, Kabul, according to the Guardian.
A Taliban spokesman immediately claimed responsibility for the killings.
The men’s deaths bring the death toll from days of rioting to at least 28 people.
The rioting started five days ago after news that copies of the Muslim holy book and other religious materials had been thrown into a fire pit used to burn rubbish at an military base north of Kabul. US President Barack Obama subsequently said that the Qur’ans were inadvertently burned and described the incident as a “terrible mistake.”
The Qur’an burning incident was made public last Tuesday after Afghan workers at the Bagram Air Base saw soldiers dumping books in firepit. Thousands of Afghans gathered outside the base to protest shortly afterwards.
NPR reports that all Nato and US forces are now being recalled from Afghan ministries.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say