Suicide attack on Afghan NATO base where Korans were burned

KABUL - Reuters

Afghan demonstrators shout anti US-slogans during a protest against Koran desecration in Kunduz on February 25, 2012. AFP photo

A suicide bomber killed at least two civilians on 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.
 
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.
 
The burnings of the Koran last month at the NATO base, which the U.S. said were unintentional, brought Afghan-American relations to a new low and sparked widespread anti-Western protests that killed 30 including American troops shot by Afghan soldiers.