[Mb-civic] CBC News - 7 DIE IN AFGHAN PROTESTS OVER QUR'AN ALLEGATIONS

[CBC News Online]

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7 DIE IN AFGHAN PROTESTS OVER QUR'AN ALLEGATIONS
WebPosted Fri May 13 10:59:23 2005

kabul---At least seven people died in clashes with police Friday during
anti-American demonstrations over allegations that Islam's holy book was
desecrated at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay.

In the latest violence, two civilians and a police officer were fatally
shot in the southeastern city of Ghazni. Witnesses said demonstrators
swarmed a police station, chanting anti-U.S. slogans and throwing rocks
at the building.

Earlier in the day, Afghan police opened fire on hundreds of
demonstrators in the Baharak district of northeastern Badakhshan
province, killing three men, said Associated Press. At least 20
others were injured on the third day of violence that has killed
seven other people.

 FROM MAY 12, 2005: 3 killed in 2nd day of clashes in Afghanistan

At another demonstration on Friday in Qala-e-Naw, in Badghis province,
one man was killed by police fire, the province's police chief told AP.

Friday's shootings raise the number of people killed in anti-American
demonstrations this week to 14.

The demonstrations were sparked by a report in the May 9 edition of
Newsweek magazine that said interrogators at the military base in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, placed copies of the Qur'an on toilets to upset
prisoners. One report said they flushed the holy book down the toilet.

Desecration of the book is punishable by death in Afghanistan and
Pakistan, where many of the Guantanamo prisoners are from. Most were
captured following the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Pentagon has promised to investigate the report.

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