KABUL — Protesters angry over Koran burnings by American troops lobbed grenades at a U.S. base in northern Afghanistan and clashed with police and troops in a day of violence that left seven international troops wounded and two Afghans dead.
The top American diplomat in the country said the spike in tensions, including the killing of two U.S. military advisers Saturday at an Afghan ministry, would not diminish the U.S. commitment to the region.
“I think we need to let things calm down, return to a more normal atmosphere, and then get on with business,” Ambassador Ryan Crocker told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Sunday’s violence was the latest in six days of riots. The reaction to the disposal of Korans in a U.S. base burn pit has spiraled out of control, leaving dozens of people dead, including four U.S. troops reportedly killed by their Afghan counterparts.
Afghan authorities have launched a manhunt across the country for a driver they suspect of killing two U.S. military advisers at the Interior Ministry.
In Kunduz province, thousands of demonstrators started out protesting peacefully Saturday but then turned violent as they tried to enter the district’s largest city, said Amanuddin Quriashi, district administrator. People in the crowd fired on police and threw grenades at a U.S. base, he said.
Seven NATO troops were hurt by the grenade. One protester was killed when troops fired out from the U.S. base, and another was killed by Afghan police, Quriashi said.
A NATO spokesman said an explosion occurred outside the base but that the grenades did not breach its defenses.
“Initial reports indicate that there were no ISAF service-member fatalities,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Badura, referring to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.
NATO, Britain and France recalled their advisers from Afghan ministries in the capital after the two U.S. advisers — a lieutenant colonel and a major — were found dead in their office, shot in the back of the head.
The Taliban claimed that the shooter was one of their sympathizers and an accomplice helped him get into the compound.
Members of the international military coalition described the removal of advisers as a temporary security measure, stressing that they did not expect it to affect partnerships with the Afghans.
