Two US Troops Killed by Man Wearing Afghan Army Uniform - East Idaho News
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Two US Troops Killed by Man Wearing Afghan Army Uniform

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GETTY W 122911 AfghanNationalArmy?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1329998470665ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) — A man wearing an Afghan army uniform shot and killed two members of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force — said to be Americans — in eastern Afghanistan Thursday, the military coalition said.

The presumed Afghan soldier opened fire on his foreign mentors, who have not yet been identified, on a base near the border with Pakistan.

It’s not clear whether the gunman shot the two service members in retaliation to the inadvertent burning of Korans and other religious materials earlier this week by coalition forces in Afghanistan.  The ISAF is investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, demonstrations over the accidental destruction of the religious texts continued for a third straight day on Thursday.  Afghan police fired into the air and used water cannons against more than 2,000 protesters outside another base.

The protests show no signs of slowing down and have already claimed at least 10 lives.

On another note, it was reported later Thursday that President Obama sent a letter that day to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, apologizing for the burning of Korans.

National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said, “Following up on their February 20 phone call, the President sent a letter to President Karzai to continue their discussion on a range of issues related to our long-term partnership.  In the letter, delivered by Ambassador [Ryan] Crocker this afternoon in Kabul, the President also expressed our regret and apologies over the incident in which religious materials were unintentionally mishandled at Bagram Airbase.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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