US soldier shot at Koran

An American soldier has been disciplined after using a copy of the Koran for target practice in Iraq.

Colonel Bill Buckner, a US military spokesman, said commanders were ordered to investigate after Iraqi police found the Koran on May 11 at a firing range in Radwaniya, near Baghdad.

He described the incident as "serious and deeply troubling".

"Coalition commanders have briefed local leaders on the results of the investigation and expressed their deep regret," Col Buckner said.

"They have also undertaken disciplinary action against the soldier who was involved and he has been removed from Iraq."

Saeed al-Zubaie, head of a US-allied Sunni Arab tribal council in the area where the Koran was found, said the book was peppered with 14 bullet holes and offensive language had been scrawled inside.

Such an act of desecration of the Muslim holy book could inflame anger against the US military presence in Iraq.

But Mr al-Zubaie said an apology by senior American military commanders had helped calm tensions.

"I was feeling bitterness, but as long as they apologised we are OK with them. Our anger has cooled," he said.

US commanders were reportedly met by hundreds of protesters when they went to the village to deliver the apology.

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