Update: 5 Killed in Violent Riots Over Koran Burning on U.S. Air Base in Afghanistan
- Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:29am by
Billy Hallowell
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Afghan security forces arrive at the scene of an anti-U.S. demonstration at a NATO military base in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. Anti-American demonstrations continued for a second day Wednesday in Afghanistan over what the U.S. has said was the inadvertent burning of Muslim holy books at a NATO military base. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
KABUL, Afghanistan (The Blaze/AP) — The controversy over the burning of Islamic holy books at a U.S. air base has turned violent (read the original report here). An Afghan official says two protesters have died in an exchange of gunfire during a riot outside an American base in eastern Afghanistan that also wounded two NATO troops.
The deaths raise to five the number of Afghans killed around the country during Thursday‘s protests over this week’s Koran burnings. The chaos, which shows no signs of simmering, started earlier this week. On Tuesday, The Blaze reported:
More than 2,000 angry Afghans rallied Tuesday against the inadvertent burning of Korans and other Islamic religious materials during trash disposal at an American air base. They demanded to meet the country’s president over the issue and threatened to demonstrate again if their demand was not met.
U.S. Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, apologized and ordered an investigation into the incident, which he was “not intentional in any way.”
Here‘s Allen’s apology:
President Obama, too, has commented on the matter. The Afghan president’s office says it has received a letter from President Obama formally apologizing for the burning of Qurans at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
The statement from President Hamid Karzai’s office says the U.S. ambassador delivered the letter on Thursday.
In the letter, which is quoted in the statement, Obama expresses his “deep regret for the reported incident” and offers his “sincere apologies.”
According to the statement, Obama wrote: “The error was inadvertent; I assure you that we will take the appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, to include holding accountable those responsible.”
So far, this attempt to temper the situation has done little to stem the outrage. On Thursday, Governor Haji Mohammad Hassan says NATO and Afghan troops were firing in the air to disperse hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the base in Khogyani district in eastern Nangahar province.
An Afghan protestor, left, shouts slogans near burning security booth in front of the US base of Bagram during an anti US demonstration in Bagram north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)
Hassan says during the rioting, one man in an Afghan army uniform shot at NATO troops and seriously wounded two of them. The Taliban are seizing upon the opportunity to encourage violence among Afghans.
“The protest and shootings came as the Taliban called on Muslims to attack NATO military bases and convoys and kill its soldiers following the admission that NATO troops had incinerated Islamic religious material at Bagram Airfield,” CNN reports.
Earlier, Afghan police shot and killed three protesters during two demonstrations in the north and south of the country.
On Wednesday, WFLA radio spoke with a woman named “Lisa” — reportedly the mother of a soldier who is stationed at Bagram Air Force based. She described the current conditions on the base as a result of the protests:
“They don’t have running water,” she said. “Electricity is scarce, (and) they’re on all sorts of drills and lockdowns.”
Listen to Lisa’s comments and her limited communications with her son, below:
Update: CBS News reports:
Two U.S. troops have been shot to death and four more wounded by an Afghan solider who turned his gun on his allies in apparent anger over the burning of Korans at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, an Afghan official tells CBS News.
A statement from the International Security Assistance Force – Afghanistan, the international coalition in the country, confirmed that two troops were killed in Eastern Afghanistan on Thursday by “an individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform.” [...]
The source also said the shooting appeared to be motivated by the burning of Korans at the sprawling U.S. Bagram air base, north of Kabul, but he did not provide additional details as to what led him to that conclusion.
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Comments (132)
kapnkd
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:59amHow to wipe out the enemy….Just keep burning those Korans and let them riot and wipe themselves out of existence via their own doing!!
Report Post »Red1492
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 12:26pmSad, but true.
Report Post »Latter-Day-Soldier
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 4:33amYou cannot bring democracy and western ideals to a people that will kill you for not believing as they do.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:51amwikipedia 1940-1944 insurgency inChechnya
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:50amOne more thing, the people here at home who will criticize us the most over this incident besides the Muslims are the left. there are the same paeans of praise for the Soviet Union. Well look at the precious Soviet system in all its’ glory. It killed 1/3rd to 1.2 of the citizens in just one of its’ regions in a 4 year period in the 1940s. But the Left loved the Soviet Union anyway & still does. So what does the left’s criticism of this incident mean? Nothing. Just a guilt trip they are laying on us.
Report Post »CleanUpAisle2013
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:48amThose rioting in protest and the Muslim Huggers are all missing the point: Is it OK to write in your Quran?
Report Post »“No, it is not ok to write anything in the Quran, not even highlight or underlining a word or writing the name in the inside of the front folder. The only thing permissible is a sticker on the outside folder to denote that it belongs to a Masjid or for a student to mark that it is his book. Nothing though on the pages of the Quran. ”
“According to the good salaf and companions, writing anything in the Quran was forbidden. They were reluctant to even write the names of chapters and numbers for verses, and only after a long time did that work its way, necessarily reviewed though to show it is not part of the Quran (hence the chapter names come in these boxes because it is not part of the verses in that place).
إبراهيم النخعي في مصحفي فاتحة سورة كذا وكذا فقال لي: (امْحه فإن عبدالله بن مسعود قال: لا تخلطوا في كتاب الله ما ليس فيه)
Abi Hamza narrated that Imam Ibrahim Annakhee saw written in his quran a note saying “Surat so and so” as a reminder and he told him to delete it, as Abdullah Ibn Masood said “do not write anything in the Quran that wasn’t of it.”
http://www.gawaher.com/topic/727829-is-it-allowed-to-write-notesand-highlight-verses-in-quran/
USAONLYdotUS
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 1:03pmThat Book is just a Book. It’s no different than the New york times. Paper & Ink. If the words and teachings mean anything , they don’t have life until they are in your heart and you live your life by their guidance. But the Book, please, people who can blow themselves up and kill dozens of people, because of the book, can command an apology from our president? Oh yeah , I forgot, the words of the quaran are the sweetest sounds to him.
Report Post »objectivetruth
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:47amThis is nuts.Our military commanders are apologizing for what?Burning a book of a cult.Personally I’d have suggested using it for toilet paper.Least ways it would have been of some use.Then again its cold there so it was usable as fire material.You know I think patton and his boys would could have come up with a better ploy ruse[on the spot if you will]by claiming it was being burnt as it they were harboring lice.Which can in turn transmit typhus.H(( its not a far stretch from the truth.Muslims are worse than fleas and transmit just about every evil known to mankind.
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 4:55pmFinally the americans are getting real.those muslims arn‘t going away and unless you come out for genocide you’re going to have to deal with them.Those smart generals are catching on.perhaps you genocidist fox fed gulls will too one day.if american soldiers got killed over this-the military brought this on itself.Prosecutions are in order.And what’s an exremist message?Whatever happened to freedom of speech and beliefs? An afghan has as much right to denounce america as america has to denounce afghanisan.i stand with the afghan people.nice to see american generals apologizing to the poor afghans though.the 21stc belongs to the people-all people not just those with a 21stc military.
Report Post »Gypsy One
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 6:09pmGreat paragraph! Rose Ellen claims she sides with the poor people whose rag tag books were burnt. By all means, go move there Rosie. If you think we as US citizens are going to put up with you sloven pigs, think again. I hope all your stupid books are burnt, and in fact hope to use some of it for a pig roast in my back yard. Heidi ho, you bunch of jerks!
Report Post »Jasonn
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:46amKiss my foot, O’Bama. The only way this could have been any better is if they had pissed on them to put the fire out.
Report Post »Latter-Day-Soldier
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 4:49amWhat’s next, turning over troops to the locals for “crimes against allah” every time an insurgent is shot?
Report Post »And I thought the rules and regs I heard about from my dad and his friends (who were in Vietnam) was bad.
Walkabout
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:45amIf you do not state the truth of the situation & allow the enemy to lie, then you have to be meek, subservient & apologize. Politicos call it expediency but it is defeatism.
Mike Savage brought up the fact that the Korans had secret messages in them & that is why they were confiscated. After they are confiscated what do you do with them? Their problem is that they were not burned completely. They should not be mixed with other stuff.
If you don’t beleive that people would alter the a holy book (Bible or Koran) to smuggle messages, well they do it in the prison system in the U.S. the taliban would not hit on the same ideal?
Report Post »crazyoz
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:44amEvery time the muslims kill a Christian we should gather 10,000 korans and burn them.
Report Post »GetA2J
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 11:13amI agree. I was going to say that the obama admin seems to have no problem with people in the U.S. burning the American FLag, or people around the world burning bibles or the ASmerican flag but he wants to apoligize for this??? Get him and his ilk out of the white house!!!!
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 4:59pmdREAM YOUR GENOCIDIST FANTASIES -DREAM ON-YOUR GENERALS ARE APOLOGIZING AND YOUR SOLDIERS GET BLOWBACK.tHE REALITY ON THE GROUND-MUSLIMS EXIST AND WE YOUR LONG DREAMED OF GENOCIDE IS NOT GONNA HAPPEN-iNSTEAD WE APOLOGIZE WHEN WE OFFEND THEM .nOW THAT REALITY TRUMPS THE FOX FED PROPAGANDA OF YOU BRAINWASHED GULLS.I STAND WITH THE POOR MUSLIM AFGHANS.
Report Post »Latter-Day-Soldier
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 4:54amI have just one word that sums up rose-ellens rant: “hysteria”
Report Post »Jenny Lind
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:34amIt’s just the excuse they needed. Who discovered this? I believe it was afgans working on the base-do you think it might have been a set up to start riots? Something smells.
Report Post »notetaking
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 1:55amI wondered that, too.
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:28amWhere is the outrage and apologies when they KILL Christians? BHO is a disgrace to our country.
Report Post »rose-ellen
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 11:09pmThey kill christian collaborators with dictators and with american invasion and occupation.
Report Post »Latter-Day-Soldier
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 4:59amRose, if you were down there in Afghanistan to “show your support” for them…the first thing they would say to you is: “Who let you out of the house?”
Report Post »AzSage
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:27amI am reaffirmed every day that Islam is a very intolerant, bigoted and violent cult.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:26amAnd for some reason Obama thinks he can make peace with these people any more? They know we are cutting and running from a war Obama has lost for us – Afghanistan AND Iraq.
Report Post »pwatkins
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:35amNo peace can be made with them Snow, bc they have no peace in their hearts and like Franklin Graham in a round about way suggested Obama doesn’t either, bc he does not know Jesus Christ as many of us do.
Report Post »pwatkins
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:26amJust how many Qurans have burned due to their own rioting and bomb blasts? When is Obama going to make them apologize for burning our flag and hold them accountable. I am so sick of seeing our men and women fighting for our country and Obama saying they will be held accountable for everything these evil morons don’t agree with. They blow up churches with Christians in them, go in homes and slaughter Christian families, even babies and Obama never mentions it, but he wants to hold our men and women accountable that are fighting for our lives…pathetic. I hope Alan West calls him out on this one too. It seems to me we have already paid for what happened with the lives of 5 people….at least that is all we have reports of. They have no concern over there for any Holy literture…that is BS….JUST AN EXCUSE TIO KILL IN SATAN’S NAME.
Report Post »lailanie
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 3:16pmTotal agree with you!! My son is fighting in Afghanistan and i am very scared for him right now. Think we should just get out of there and bring our soldiers home. Those people dont want our help and never have.
Report Post »Falindraun
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:13amNow they know how i feel when they burn the american flag.
Report Post »wboehmer
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:08amRemind me why these idiot extremist protesters being shot is a bad thing?
Report Post »TyrannyNoMore
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:05amI propose the following; Every time a Christian is murdered by islam, a church burned, or a flight turned around because a passenger sings the praises of bin laden (pig vomit be upon him) we all should burn a quran in protest ! There is not a single redeeming quality displayed by the religion of pieces. We have had enough !
Report Post »momrules
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:27amI always thought Mecca would make a nice target.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:56amIn his apology letter Obama wrote that he would “ hold accountable those responsible ” for burning the Koran.
Report Post »Looks to me like the Commander in Chief is about to throw some more soldiers under the bus to keep the savages content.
sWampy
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:06amThere should be a war on this book of pure hate, it is more disgusting than anything written by Hitler, KKK, etc. You should be charged with crimes against humanity everytime you leave a copy not destroyed. We should lead the world, not bow down to it.
Report Post »rangerp
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:09amdid anyone write an apology letter when commanders had Bible burned over in theater. they did not want them being passed out to the heathen.
Report Post »nana1212
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 7:45pmWhat an a-hole this guy is! How about holding himself accountable for all the irresponsibilities he’s created during his “reign”! He’s such an a-kisser! Can’t stand him!
Report Post »Darla_K
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:54amOur commander sent an apology letter to them I heard this morning. What a joke. We need to pull out and come home and get ready for the elections and put some troops on our borders.
Report Post »Miyegombo Bayartsogt
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:53amIt’s nice that Mohammadans can take time off burning Christian churches and smashing Buddhist statues and beating their woman and burning infidels and murdering their neighbors to show the world just how violently pious they can be about some burnt paper. Followers of Islam seem stuck in a squalid cycle of self-righteous, self-hating self pity that comes from being stultified poor people stuck in failed states desperately clinging to a third-rate death cult they try and pass off as religion. If these bloody, baying barbarians want the world to see clearly the benighted bankruptcy of belief in supernatural spirits, they are doing a fine job. Bad people tend to do bad things and good people tend to do good, but if you want good people to do really wicked things you need religion.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:51am.
This is what happens when you play at war…….
Kill them All, their words not mine……….
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 9:07amAmen. War is about killing people, if you aren’t out killing the enemy, you are just ******* them off.
Report Post »USPATRIOT101
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:51amAccording to news reports, these savages were using the pages out of these “sacred” books to send messages to each other while in one of our jails.
Report Post »65Mustang
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:49amThis is just an excuse for a group of degenerates to act in such a manner as to show their ignorance for supporting a degenerate, hate-filled religion. The actions of these people (?) are part of the New World Order and is well organized.
Report Post »BelindaB
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:46amThe muslim morons burn CHRISTIAN CHURCHES, KILL CHRISTIANS, and what the he@@ Do they EXPECT !!!!! Their little book of lies NEEDS burning, everywhere in the world !!
Report Post »ashestoashes
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:59amAnd yet we have been in wars for years defending them trying to establish worldwide “democracy”…which will never happen..all the while their goal of establishing a world wide calipate is being realized through immigration and population explosion..while our own are taught through the EPA *environmentalism” in our educational system to have 1.3 children per family to allow for the influx of immigration. Nine million were here in 2008. an to my knowledge..they have trickled in at 11000 a month since not counting the tens of thousands by executive order. Their methodology? Infiltrate our government and educational system..The Muslim Brotherhood has defined this..and it has happened..THe only fix? The Constitution..if we elect a Constitutional President and hold Congressional and Senatorial feet to the fire..They cannot defeat us militarily..but they are taking us over from within,.
Report Post »acdcguy
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:36amIf that’s all it takes, keep burning them and bring our military home!!!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:32amThe video of Allen groveling to Islam is sickening.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:46amIt is indeed,could you imagine Gen.George S. Patton doing that? Not a snowballs chance.
Report Post »SoupSandwich
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:53amSad days. Bring him home to check on the swing set security. Nothing will change there; has not in thousands of years.
Report Post »jkendal
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 11:08amDo we even have proof that korans were burned?? I wouldn’t put it past this administration or the leftist press to put out lies about the whole thing…..
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