As anti-US sentiments are on the rise in Afghanistan, shocking new footage shows American soldiers desecrating the holy Qur’an after killing civilians in an Afghan village.
Reports say at least three civilians were killed and four others were injured after US forces raided an Islamic school in Ghazni Province. The troops fired several shots at the holy Qur’an and insulted Islamic symbols, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Provincial authorities say US forces carried out the attack without coordination with the Afghan army. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has promised to launch an investigation into the incident.
Karzai’s office has repeatedly called on the US to pay more attention to the protection of civilian lives during military operations.
Meanwhile, hundreds of angry Afghans have taken to the streets of Ghazni and its surroundings to protest against the rising number of civilian casualties and desecration of sanctities at the hands of US-led troops.
Afghans say the US-led forces disregard local culture and have targeted hundreds of civilian in different parts of the war-torn country.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said in late December that the NATO was violating a security agreement it signed with the Kabul government based on which all NATO operations in Kabul must be cleared with the government.
Hundreds of civilians have lost their lives in the US-led airstrikes and ground operations in various parts of Afghanistan over the past few months, with Afghans becoming more outraged over the seemingly endless number of deadly assaults.
The Afghan interior ministry has recently said that 2010 was the deadliest year for civilians since the US-led invasion in 2001. The ministry says more than 2,000 civilians lost their lives in violence across Afghanistan.
Civilians have been the main victims of violence in Afghanistan, particularly in the country’s troubled southern and eastern provinces.
Source: Agencies