Seven killed in worst-ever attack on "UN workers" in Afghanistan
Seven United Nations workers have been executed in the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-e-Sharif by demonstrators protesting the burning of a Koran at a church in Florida.
The victims of the worst-ever attack on UN personnel in Afghanistan included five guards from Nepal, and civilian staff from Norway, Sweden and Romania. Four local residents were also killed. UN officials told The Daily Telegraph the final toll could rise as high as 20, and there were unconfirmed reports that the head of the United Nations Military Assistance Mission (Unama) in Mazar-e-Sharif had also been seriously injured
Local residents said about 2,000 demonstrators attacked UN guards stationed outside Unama compound, seized their weapons and began firing at police. Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a police spokesman, claimed the protesters had killed two of the guards and shot others before scaling an anti-blast wall to topple a guard tower and set fire to buildings. Few details were available on how the attack took place, but local residents said crowds began gathering there after a cleric at the city's central mosque urged worshippers at Friday prayers to call on the UN take action against Wayne Sapp, an evangelical preacher who burned a Koran at a service at a small fringe church in Gainesville, Flordia, on March 20. [Photo: AFP/Getty]
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