Several Killed in Deadliest Day of Afghan Protests over Koran Burning
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SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Protests over the inadvertent burning of Korans and other religious materials earlier this week by coalition forces in Afghanistan continued in the country for a fourth straight day on Friday, claiming the lives of at least 10 people.
Herat took the biggest hit, with six fatalities reported in and around the city, according to local officials. Two others, including a child, died in Khost, while one person was killed in Kabul and another north of the Afghan capital in Baghlan.
Friday’s demonstrations were the deadliest so far, and come a day after two American members of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force were fatally shot by an Afghan Army soldier.
Thursday night, Gen. John Allen, the commander of all foreign forces in Afghanistan, made an unannounced visit to the base where the two U.S. soldiers were killed.
In an impassioned speech, he urged his men not to lash out with their own anger.
“There will be moments like this when you’re searching for the meaning of this loss. There will be moments like this, when your emotions are governed by anger and a desire to strike back. These are the moments when you reach down inside and you grip the discipline which makes you a United States soldier and you gut through the pain, and you gut through the anger and you remember why we’re here. We’re here for our friends, we’re here for our partners, we’re here for the Afghan people,” Allen said.
“Now is not the time for revenge, now is not the time for vengeance, now is the time to look deep inside your souls, remember your mission, remember your discipline, remember who you are,” he continued.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio