A suicide bomber killed at least two civilians Monday after detonating explosives at the gates of the NATO base where copies of the Koran were burned, Afghan officials said.
The bomber targeted a vehicle belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said district governor Kabir Ahmad Rahil, adding there could be foreign casualties, although a NATO spokeswoman said no coalition troops had been harmed in the attack on Bagram airfield.
Four more civilians were wounded in the attack, Rahil said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was “revenge” for the Koran burning, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a text message to media. He added that “a number of Americans” were killed and their tanks destroyed in the attack, although the Islamist group often exaggerate casualties.
Read more: Suicide attack on NATO base where Korans burned kills two
Two American officers were shot dead at close range in Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry on Saturday, a U.S. official said, as rage gripped the country for a fifth day over the burning of the Muslim holy book at a NATO base.
NATO recalled all staff working at ministries in the Afghan capital, Kabul, following the attack, with its top commander in Afghanistan calling the killer a coward.
The two American officers, advisers to the ministry, were fired on at close range, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Read more: American officers killed in Afghan Interior Ministry
President Barack Obama sent a letter to Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday apologizing for the burning of copies of the Koran at U.S. military base in Afghanistan, the White House said.
“In the letter, delivered by Ambassador (Ryan) Crocker this afternoon in Kabul, the president also expressed our regret and apologies over the incident in which religious materials were unintentionally mishandled at Bagram Airbase,” White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.
The burning of Korans at the Bagram airbase near Kabul has sparked fierce protests against U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
