“Our people's emotion in this regard is legitimate and respectable. Some 29 people were martyred and around 200 wounded. We have ordered the security forces to be careful and protect people's lives and property,” Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in a television address on Sunday.

He called for calm and patience, saying that although the people's feelings and sorrow were legitimate, the enemies of peace, stability and development should not be allowed to misuse them.

Karzai also condemned "with the strongest words" the treatment of Islam's holy book and said the perpetrators should be punished. He called on the US to try the soldiers responsible, without going into further details.

Regarding the killing of two US advisors in the interior ministry in Kabul on Saturday, the Afghan president expressed his condolences to the families and said “we feel sorry for what happened” but did not talk about the identity of the shooter.

It has since been reported that the killer was a 25-year-old intelligence official who has disappeared.

The Taliban, who have called on Afghan soldiers to kill foreign forces, claimed responsibility for the killings and said they were “revenge” for the desecration of the Koran at Bagram air base.

NATO and several European countries have temporarily pulled their advisers out of Afghan government ministries for security reasons.

Some 40 people have died since nationwide protests broke out last Tuesday, including four US soldiers.

Author: Sandra Petersmann / act
Editor: Shamil Shams