Taliban kills 2 American officers in Afghan Interior Ministry

In Kabul, 2 NATO officers have been killed by the Afghan Taliban inside the interior ministry. This brings the death toll, from the protests over the burning of copies of the Koran, to at least thirty. Adding to the chaos, demonstrators in Kunduz and Laghman clashed with police. In response, NATO has recalled all personnel from Afghan government ministries in Kabul. A gunman killed two American advisers inside a heavily guarded government compound in Kabul on Saturday. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in retaliation for the Koran burnings. The NATO commander recalled all international military personnel working in Afghan ministries in the capital. A US official in Washington confirmed that the two killed were American. Saturday's attack comes as tensions between Afghans and Americans are high after Korans and religious materials had been thrown into a fire pit of burning garbage at Bagram Air Field, a large US base north of Kabul. Still, thousands have been rallying across Afghanistan. In Laghman, eastern Afghanistan, about 1,000 demonstrators threw rocks at police, government buildings and a UN office on Saturday. Gen. Abdul Rahman Sarjang, police chief of Laghman Province, said, "In the shooting by protesters, two members of the intelligence service were wounded. One police officer was also wounded along with tens of police and Afghan national army soldiers." Laghman's provincial Health Director said that 20 casualties had been brought to hospital. Attaullah Neyazi, health dir. of Laghman Province, said, "We have received 20 wounded victims and of them two are in critical condition. Troops were sent to Jalalabad Hospital after they were given first aid treatment. Fortunately, so far we don't have any cases of deaths reported to us." Adding to the chaos, hundreds of demonstrators in Kunduz province tried to overrun a UN compound, but were held back by police. Officials said at least three protesters died and 50 others were injured.