KABUL: Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence says six Afghan soldiers have been killed and 16 others wounded while trying to defuse a roadside bomb.
The ministry says the soldiers died Saturday in Mukar district of Baghdis province in western Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, three more people were shot dead by Afghan security forces as protests over the burnings of the Muslim holy book at a Nato base raged for a fifth day.
The burning of the Qurans at the Bagram compound this week has deepened public mistrust of Nato forces struggling to stabilise Afghanistan before foreign combat troops withdraw by end-2014.
Despite an apology from US President Barack Obama and a call for restraint from Afghan leader Hamid Karzai, thousands took to the streets after 12 people were killed and dozens wounded on Friday, the bloodiest day yet in demonstrations.
A protester was shot dead in Logar province south of Kabul after hundreds of protesters, many chanting “Death to America!” - a slogan heard at protests throughout the week —charged at police. Two people were wounded.
In the restive northern Kunduz province, two protesters were shot dead by Afghan security forces as they set alight shops and buildings, senior police detective Ghulam Mohn Farhad said. Several people were wounded.
Twenty people were wounded when demonstrators hurled stones in eastern Laghman province, health official Abdul Qayumi said.
The capital, Kabul, was calm, with police and security forces deployed across the city.
However, six Afghan army soldiers were killed and 16 wounded in western Afghanistan on Saturday when a Taliban bomb exploded as the troops attempted to defuse it, the defence ministry said.
The incident happened in the insurgency-hit Muqur district of western Badghis province, Afghan defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said.
“Six soldiers were killed and 16 others injured when the Taliban improvised explosive device (IED) went off prematurely,” Waziri said.
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