One dead in Afghan riots against Quran burning

One man was shot dead when protesters, angry over plans by a US pastor to burn copies of the Quran, attacked a NATO base in Afghanistan's north on Friday, a provincial government spokesman said.

The pastor had however pulled back from his plans to burn the holy book.

A crowd, estimated at 10,000 by a spokesman for the Badakhshan province governor, had earlier poured into the streets after special Eid prayers.

Some later hurled stones at a NATO base run by Germans and a protester was shot when troops inside opened fire, spokesman Amin Sohail said.

A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul said ISAF was aware of protests in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan, and were investigating.