Afghans riot over Koran report, four dead

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan police opened fire on protesters on Wednesday killing four and wounding dozens after violent demonstrations over a report that U.S. interrogators had desecrated the Koran.

U.S. forces stationed in the conservative Muslim city of Jalalabad, 130 km (80 miles) east of the capital, were called back to base when the trouble began leaving Afghan authorities to handle it, at their request, a U.S. spokeswoman said.

Government offices were set on fire, shops looted and U.N. buildings and diplomatic missions attacked as thousands of people took to the streets chanting "Death to America".

Police fired several times to disperse crowds. Four people had been killed and 52 wounded, provincial health chief Fazel Mohammad Ibrahimi said, citing information from city hospitals. State television said four people were dead and 40 wounded.

"Police had to open fire on the protesters, they were destroying the city," provincial police chief Hazrat Ali told Reuters. He declined to comment on casualties.

About 1,000 school students demonstrated in nearby Laghman province. In Khost city, also in the east, protesters burned a picture of U.S. President George W. Bush and a U.S. flag.

There was also a report of a protest in the central province of Wardak. Kabul was quiet.

Newsweek magazine said in a recent edition that investigators probing abuses at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay had found that interrogators "had placed Korans on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet".

Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each book with deep reverence.

The U.S. military says the report is being investigated.

U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai told reporters during a visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels the violence showed Afghan authorities were not ready to handle protests. "That must be made better," he said.

Witnesses said police and national army troops had restored order by early afternoon. An army officer said 200 reinforcements had been called for.

The United States commands a foreign force in Afghanistan of about 18,300, most of them American, fighting Taliban insurgents and hunting Taliban and al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, architect of the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities.

ANTI-KARZAI SLOGANS

The United States is holding more than 500 prisoners from its war on terrorism at the naval base on Cuba. Many of them were detained in Afghanistan after U.S.-led troops drove the Taliban from power in late 2001.

The protest began on Tuesday when about 2,000 students marched to demand an apology and punishment for those involved in the reported incident.

Many more people turned out on Wednesday with ordinary residents also taking part, said a witness who estimated more than 5,000 were involved.

The protesters also denounced Karzai, destroying a portrait of him and shouting "Death to America's allies" and "Death to Karzai" as well as "Death to Bush".

"We don't want America, we don't want Karzai, we want Islam," they shouted.

Cars were smashed, shops ransacked and government buildings, including the governor's office, torched. Protesters looted the Pakistani consulate and attacked an Indian mission, a witness said. Smoke billowed across the city, which sprawls along the main road to the Khyber Pass and Pakistan.

U.N. offices were attacked and two of its guest houses seriously damaged and all but essential staff were being moved out of the city, said spokeswoman Ariane Quentier.

In Kabul, the U.S. embassy said it was concerned and saddened by the violence and loss of life. Disrespect towards the holy book of any religion was unacceptable, it said.

"This is a serious allegation and it's going to be looked into," U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said in Washington.

Politicians in Pakistan have also demanded an apology.

A U.S. military investigation into accusations of detainee abuse at Guantanamo Bay has yet to conclude.