Nato recalls Afghan military staff

The commander of Nato and US forces says that all Nato personnel are being recalled from Afghan ministries following an attack at the Interior Ministry in Kabul.

Gen. John Allen says staff are being recalled “for obvious force protection reasons”.

He said that Nato is investigating today’s shooting and will pursue all leads to find the person responsible for the attack.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for the burning of the Muslim holy book the Koran at a US air base.

Protests against the burnings raged across the country for a fifth day.

An apology from President Barack Obama has failed to quell public outrage over what Nato insisted was an accidental desecration of the Koran.

At least 28 people have been killed and hundreds wounded since Tuesday, when it first emerged that Korans and other religious materials had been thrown into a fire pit used to burn rubbish at Bagram Air Field, a large US base north of Kabul.

Among those dead were two US soldiers who were killed Thursday by one of their Afghan counterparts while a riot raged outside their base in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

General Allen, the commander of Nato and US forces in Afghanistan, said he recalled all Nato personnel from the ministries “for obvious force protection reasons” but the alliance remains committed to its partnership with the Afghan government.

“The perpetrator of this attack is a coward whose actions will not go unanswered,” Allen said.

Nato forces have advisers embedded in many Afghan ministries, both as trainers and to help manage the transition to Afghan control and foreign forces prepare to withdraw by the end of 2014.

The Afghan Interior Ministry oversees all of the country’s police, so has numerous Nato advisers.

Two Afghan officials said the ministry shooting did not involve any Afghans. One of the officials noted that the shooting occurred inside a secure room at the ministry that Afghan staff do not have access to.

Nato confirmed that two service members were killed, but spokesman Lt. Col Jimmie Cummings said “initial reports say it was not a Western shooter”.

In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the gunman was an insurgent named Abdul Rahman. He said an accomplice inside the ministry helped him get inside the compound. He said the killings were a planned response to the Koran burnings.

“After the attack, Rahman informed us by telephone that he was able to kill four high-ranking American advisers,” Mujahid said. The Taliban frequently exaggerate casualty claims.

In Kunduz, the capital of Kunduz province in northeast Afghanistan, more than 1,000 protesters demonstrated against the Koran burnings.

At first they were peaceful, but as the protest continued they began throwing stones at government buildings and a UN office, said Sarwer Hussaini, a spokesman for the provincial police.

He said the police were firing into the air to try to disperse the crowd.