Tensions rose between the US and Afghanistan last week after a pile of Korans were incinerated in Afghanistan last week. Five US service members were discovered to be the culprits, although officials claim that the burning was accidental. The Korans were removed earlier from a prison air base after US troops found extremist messages written inside and stored in an office. They were later discarded as trash later on and taken to a landfill. While the Muslim holy books were being burned, Afghans recognized the Korans, prompting the week of protests and attacks. Thirty Afghans lost their lives in the struggle, and six US military personnel were also killed (Sieff). .
US military officials immediately investigated the situation, partly in hopes to quell the rising tensions by showing that they are apologetic for desecrating the holy documents. The officials reprimanded the guilty soldiers but refuse to release their names. Afghans are outraged at the lack of adequate punishment in their eyes, causing even more tension. Some Afghans wanted the US soldiers to be tried in an Islamic court (Sieff).
"For the soldiers, it will be serious - they could lose rank. But you're not going to see the kind of public trial that some here seem to want," said one military official (Sieff).
"What they did was careless, but there was no ill will," said another official (Sieff). .
The Afghans did not accept this apology. President Hamid Karzai and senior clerics released a statement. "This evil action cannot be forgiven by apologizing. The perpetrators of the mentioned crime should be put on a public trial as soon as possible," it read (Sieff). .
It continued to demand that NATO release its control of military prisons. "This incident was caused due to the illegal management of the prison," the clerics said. They also requested "the suspension of all prisons and the transfer of all prisoners to the Afghan government so that in the future similar incidents do not happen" (Sieff).
