1 NATO soldier, 2 Afghan civilians killed at Koran shooting protest

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A protest in western Afghanistan against an American sniper who shot at a copy of the Koran in Iraq turned violent Thursday, leaving one NATO soldier and two civilians dead. NATO spokesman Maj. Martin O'Donnell said demonstrators were protesting near a military airfield in western Ghor province and began to throw rocks and set tents on fire. Police opened fire on demonstrators when the protest became violent, killing two civilians and wounding seven others, he said. Gunfire killed one NATO soldier and wounded another, but it was not clear who shot at them, O'Donnell said. "We don't know if it was one of the protesters, an insurgent among the protesters or an insurgent sniper outside the protest. We have no indication that it was the Afghan National Police," O'Donnell told The Associated Press.