Source/Credit: SKY | Yahoo News
By SKY | September 10, 2010
Three protesters demonstrating against plans by a US pastor to burn copies of the Koran have been shot outside a Nato base in Afghanistan, an official has said.
The shootings came amid confusion over whether Terry Jones would go ahead with his controversial plan on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.
A government spokesman in the Afghan province of Badakhshan said a crowd of protesters had hurled rocks at a Nato base run by German troops.
The spokesman, Amin Sohail, said soldiers opened fire and killed one protester. It was later reported that three protesters had been shot, and a total of 11 people wounded.
But Badakhshan police chief General Agha Noor Kemtuz said initial reports that one person was killed had proved false.
Speaking to Sky News from Afghan capital Kabul, Lieutenant General Nick Parker, Isaf Deputy Commander, criticised the proposed Koran-burning event.
He said: "From the perspective of the soldier on the ground, anything that introduces more friction, more difficulty, in our mission is unfortunate.
"This feeds the message of the Taliban... These sorts of incidents outside Afghanistan are unhelpful for us."
Lt Gen Parker also agreed with comments by America's top commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, that incidents like this put troops at risk.
Mr Jones had agreed to call off the book-burning following alleged promises that a proposed mosque in the American city would be moved away from the site of the 2001 terror attacks.
But later, outside his Florida church, Mr Jones claimed he was "lied to" after Imam Muhammad Musri and the leader of the New York mosque said there was no such deal.
Mr Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, said there was only an agreement for him and Mr Jones to travel to New York to meet the imam overseeing plans to build the mosque.
"I told the pastor that I personally believe the mosque should not be there, and I will do everything in my power to make sure it is moved," Mr Musri said.
"But there is not any offer from there (New York) that it will be moved. All we have agreed to is a meeting, and I think we would all like to see a peaceful resolution."
In response, Mr Jones, leader of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Centre, in Gainesville, said he was now putting the protest on hold instead of cancelling it.
"Given what we are now hearing, we are forced to rethink our decision. So as of right now, we are not cancelling the event, but we are suspending it," he said.
In Britain, thousands of Muslims gathered at one of western Europe's largest mosques to condemn the pastor.
Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, world head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, addressed millions of people from a live telecast from the Baitul Futuh Mosque, in Morden, London.
He said Mr Jones' threats spread "hatred" around the world, adding: "Religious extremism, be it Christian extremism, Muslim extremism, or any other kind, is never a true reflection of the religion."
Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned Mr Jones, describing his plan as "selfish and provocative in the extreme".
The White House, the Vatican and former UK prime minister Tony Blair also urged the pastor to call off his protest.
Until Thursday night, Mr Jones said he was going ahead with the stunt despite receiving more than 100 death threats.
US President Barack Obama said the pastor's plans were a "recruitment bonanza for al Qaeda".
In an interview with ABC television, Mr Obama said the book-burning was "completely contrary to our values as Americans. This country has been built on the notion of freedom and religious tolerance".
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