Afghans protest disposal of Quran at U.S. base

(LOS ANGELES TIMES) — An angry protest erupted outside a sprawling U.S.-run military installation on Tuesday after base personnel allegedly improperly disposed of religious materials, including Muslim holy books.

Gen. John Allen, the U.S. Marine who commands Western forces in Afghanistan, apologized and promised the incident at Bagram Air Field, north of Kabul, would be fully investigated.

Protests over desecration of the Koran have sparked serious violence in the past. One of the worst such incidents occurred last April, when a furious mob overran a United Nations’ headquarters in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, killing four Nepalese guards and three foreign U.N. workers, after a fundamentalist preacher in Florida burned the holy book.