Afghanistan: Two US soldiers killed in Koran revenge attack

Two American soldiers were shot dead yesterday by an Afghan soldier and a literacy teacher at a joint base in southern Afghanistan. The deaths were the latest in a series of anti-American attacks, following the burning of Korans by US soldiers.

Both were killed on the same day that the top Nato commander allowed a small number of foreign advisers to return to work at Afghan ministries after more than a week of being locked down in secure locations because of the killing of two other Americans. Yesterday's killings raised to six the number of Americans killed in less than two weeks amid heightened tensions over the burning of the holy books in a rubbish pit at Bagram Air Field near Kabul.

More than 30 Afghans were also killed in six days of violent riots that broke out after the incident. President Barack Obama's apology has failed to quell the anger.

In yesterday's shooting, Nato said a man in an Afghan army uniform and another in civilian clothes opened fired on coalition and Afghan soldiers.