video transcript

STORY: Afghan protesters torched a convoy of trucks supplying NATO forces in Khost province on Friday (February 24), as twelve people were killed in a fourth day of protest throughout Afghanistan against the burning of copies of the Koran at a NATO base. The burning of the Korans at the Bagram compound, north of Kabul earlier this week has been followed by a wave of demonstrations in various Afghan cities, including the capital Kabul. The Bagram incident has deepened public mistrust of NATO forces struggling to stabilise Afghanistan before foreign combat troops withdraw in 2014. U.S. President Barack Obama sent a letter to Afghan President Hamid Karzai apologising for the unintentional burning of the holy book at NATO's main Bagram air base, north of Kabul, after Afghan labourers found charred copies while collecting rubbish. Muslims consider the Koran to be the literal word of God and treat each copy with deep reverence. Desecration is considered one of the worst forms of blasphemy. Most Westerners in the Afghan capital Kabul have been confined to their heavily fortified compounds, including at the sprawling U.S. embassy complex and other diplomatic missions, as protests that have killed a total of 23 people, including two U.S. soldiers, rolled into their fourth day. The Taliban urged Afghan security forces on Thursday to "turn their guns on the foreign infidel invaders" and repeatedly urged Afghans to kill, beat and capture NATO soldiers.