Afghan protesters storm UN compounds in Heart
Up to seven people were reported killed and about a dozen people injured most with bullet wounds as security forces tried to keep order in Herat following the replacement of Governor Ismail Khan.
The office of one international aid group was also ransacked.
The violence was a challenge to US-backed interim leader Hamid Karzai, who ordered Khan's removal and has sent more than 1,000 Western-trained national army soldiers and police to Herat ahead of presidential elections on October 9.
Karzai condemned the rioters, saying they were damaging Afghanistan's fragile peace process.
"That's not what this country wants, and that's not what the people of Herat want," Karzai said. "We will deal with that strongly."
Hundreds of people gathered outside the city headquarters of the United Nations chanting slogans against the US.
Demonstrators broke through the gate, setting at least one vehicle alight and sending UN staff scuttling into their onsite bunker a UN spokesman said.
Interior Ministry spokesman Latfullah Mashal said windows were broken and fires started around two UN compounds and the office of the Afghan human rights commission.
He maintained the soldiers had only fired into the air to maintain order.
A doctor at the city's main hospital said he had received the bodies of seven protesters.
A relief worker contacted by telephone in the city said a mob broke into the office of the Danish Afghan Committee, looted equipment and set fire to the building.
The group's handful of foreign staff, who were not hurt, were waiting for an American helicopter to lift them from the compound.
Witnesses said American troops were also seen on the streets and several helicopters were circling over the city.
The US military made no comment on the incidents, which occurred as Khan's replacement Sayed Mohammad Khairkhwa, the former Afghan ambassador to Ukraine, arrived at Herat airport.
But it said that two of its soldiers got into trouble on Saturday evening, when a crowd attacked their broken-down Humvee.
A passing patrol of some 25 troops from the Afghan National Army (ANA) came to their aid. It said two civilians were wounded, one shot, and taken to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Staff at the city's hospital, however, said four demonstrators were admitted.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Pakistanis jailed for fighting alongside the Taliban were released from an Afghan prison a major gesture meant to help soothe the neighbouring countries' relationship.
Pakistani officials met the 363 prisoners as they filed out of the Kabul jail, smiling and clutching plastic bags with a few belongings.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
