Afghan protesters storm US consulate, 2 killed

At least two people have been killed as protesters stormed a US consulate in western Afghanistan, outraged by a Koran-burning incident at a NATO base. The four days of violent anti-American protests have already left 13 dead and dozens injured.

Two demonstrators were shot dead in a bid to storm the US consulate in the city of Herat, Al Jazeera reports.

Also on Friday hundreds of demonstrators have surged to the presidential palace in Kabul. The crowd of angry men was throwing stones at police and chanting “Death to America!”and “Long live Islam!” after they left the city’s Blue Mosque following Friday prayers.

A 700-strong crowd also gathered in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the volatile southeastern province of Ghazni. Demonstrators chanted “We will defend the Koran!”

US embassy officials in Kabul have urged calm through their Twitter feed.

“I call on everyone…to exercise patience and restraint as we continue to gather the facts surrounding Sunday night’s incident,” US embassy Twitter quoted General John R. Allen, who is in command of the International Security Assistance Force(ISAF) and of US Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A).

On Thursday, Barack Obama apologized for the incident which took place at Bagram base on Sunday, but this did not pacify outraged Afghans. On the same day, the Taliban urged Afghans to attack Western military bases in retaliation.

Al-Qaeda has echoed the Taliban’s calls, telling its followers to target military hubs and kill westerners following the desecration of the Muslim sacred book, a crime that carries the death penalty in Afghanistan.

US officials claim the texts seized from arrested Afghans were burned unintentionally. As the information on the burning became public, thousands rallied across the country chanting “Death to America!”

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