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KABUL — A second day of violent, anti-American protests spread across Afghanistan on Wednesday, as demonstrators seethed over the burning of Korans at a NATO air base, and Afghan politicians demanded harsh punishment for the offenders.

At least seven Afghans were killed and dozens were injured, according to the Interior Ministry, when protesters gathered in several cities across the country, throwing stones, burning tires and lighting effigies of President Barack Obama. One crowd of men attempted to storm a fortified compound in Kabul where hundreds of American contractors live.

Security forces tried to quell the scattered protests — in some cases by firing on demonstrators — but the unrest showed no sign of dissipating.

Western officials Tuesday said that the Korans were taken to an incinerator by accident.

In an Afghan parliamentary session, lawmakers backed demonstrators’ demands that the offenders be tried in an Islamic court, applying early pressure on President Hamid Karzai to act swiftly and assertively in meting out punishment.

The parliament issued “a resolution strongly condemning this act and demanded punishment of the culprits,” said Nazeefa Zaki, a lawmaker representing Kabul. Some members of parliament said the Koran burning was intended as an insult to Afghans. Others urged security officials and soldiers to wage holy war against Americans, a sentiment commonly expressed at the demonstrations.

Meanwhile, Afghan and NATO officials began a joint investigation into the incident, which has prompted apologies from top U.S. officials in Kabul and Washington and has fueled concerns that the outrage could threaten stability during a critical time in the war.