"The local nationals were killed or wounded by Afghan national police after the protest turned violent when rocks were thrown and tents set on fire," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

More than 2,000 demonstrators, carrying sticks and hurling rocks, protested outside a Lithuanian-commanded NATO base in the small town of Chaghcharan, capital of the central province of Ghor.

The two civilians were killed or ten others wounded when Afghan National Police fired on them after the protesters began throwing rocks and tents were set on fire.

ISAF said the tents were inside the airfield, but protesters did not enter the compound.

The head of the provincial council, Mohammad Daud Ghafari, blamed the shooting on the security forces.

"Police and the NATO soldiers opened fire on the people and two civilians were killed."

A Lithuanian soldier who was on security watch during the protest was shot down.

It is not clear who shot him and the Lithuanian military is investigating.

Other demonstrations protesting the Quran desecration were held in Badakhshan and Kunduz provinces in the north and in Kabul, where Afghan lawmakers staged a walkout of parliament.

An American soldier has been removed from Iraq after using a copy of the Qur'an as a target in a shooting practice, riddling the Muslim holy book with bullets.

The top American commander in Baghdad has apologized to the local tribal leaders and President George Bush later apologized to Premier Nour al-Maliki.

Protests over perceived insults to Islam have often turned violent in Afghanistan, where a deeply conservative faith is mingled with resentment at the presence of more than 50,000 foreign forces in the country.

HEYET Net- IslamOnline