US commander admits setback of Qur’an desecration

Speaking before the US House Armed Services Committee in Washington, General John Allen said that the incident has dealt a severe setback to the US mission in Afghanistan Press TV reported.

"In the wake of the revelations that American troops had mishandled religious texts to include the Qur’an; protests, some of them violent, occurred in several but only a few regions across Afghanistan, 32 Afghans lost their lives in these riots and even more were hurt," said Gen. Allen.

This is the first official confirmation of the mishandling of Islamic religious materials by US forces.

"Just since the 1st of January, the coalition has lost 60 brave troops in action, from six different nations. Thirteen of them were killed at the hands of what appeared to have been Afghan security forces, some of whom were motivated, we believe, in part by the mishandling of religious materials,” the US commander added.

Dozens of Afghans were killed and scores other hurt after anti-US rallies turned violent across Afghanistan where protesters were demanding the prosecution of those involved in the sacrilege.

Allen also confirmed that 13 foreign troopers were also killed by Afghan security forces following the Qur’an burning incident.

The American general appeared before the House Armed Services Committee as the US is struggling to overcome a series of setbacks in Afghanistan, including the Afghans' outcry over the burning of copies of the Qur’an in a US-run military airbase in the country and the massacre 16 Afghan civilians by American troops.