The Taliban exhorted Afghans Thursday to attack and kill foreign troops to avenge the burning of Korans at a US-run base, but stopped short of cutting off contacts with American officials in Qatar.
The militia urged Afghans to "not stop" at merely protesting, as fierce anti-American rallies erupted across the war-torn country for a third straight day after nine demonstrators were shot dead on Wednesday.
Afghanistan is a deeply religious country where slights against Islam have frequently provoked violent protests, and many Afghans are incensed at the discovery of charred Korans at the US-run Bagram airbase north of Kabul.
The hardline Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency against the US-backed government since being ousted in 2001, pounced on the opportunity to fan anti-US fires.
"You should bring the invading forces' military bases under your brave attack, their military convoys, kill them, capture them, beat them and teach them a lesson that they will never again dare to insult the Holy Koran," said a Taliban statement sent to media.
Yet the militia's main spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, told AFP late Wednesday that the Koran burning would not affect contacts with US officials in Qatar, designed to build confidence and pave the way for a prisoner exchange.
"We condemn the desecration of the Holy Koran in the strongest terms, but this issue will not affect this process in Qatar," he said.
The protests over the torching of Korans pushed into a third day, after the nine demonstrators were shot dead and dozens wounded in violent protests Wednesday.
Some 400 protesters marched in the southeastern Kabul suburb of Bagrami, carrying banners saying "Long live Islam, long live Koran" and chanting "Death to America".
The same chant was echoed by more than 600 people demonstrating in the Laghman provincial capital of Mihtarlam east of Kabul, while about 300 students took to the streets in the eastern city of Jalalabad, AFP journalists said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called for calm as the Koran incident is investigated by the US-led NATO force, and ordered his own security forces to avoid violence and protect people's lives and property.
The Afghan interior ministry blamed at least one of Wednesday's deaths on "foreign guards of Camp Phoenix", a US military base in Kabul attacked by protesters, but most were attributed by local officials to clashes with police.
US officials have apologised repeatedly for the burning of the Korans, which were sent to an incinerator pit at Bagram.
NATO spokesman Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson said it was "probably an act of ignorance" but "a mistake with grave consequences".
US officials speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP the military removed Korans from a prison at Bagram because inmates were suspected of using the holy book to pass messages to each other.
A joint investigation team from the US-led International Security Assistance Force and the Afghan government has visited the prison to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, ISAF said in a statement.
"This visit is an extremely important first step in resolving this issue, and I am grateful to President Karzai for his support in sending this group of representatives to assist us," the ISAF commander, US General John Allen, said.
"The only way we can demonstrate our sincerity to the people and government of Afghanistan is through our actions, and we are already taking measures to ensure this never happens again."
The backlash over the incident is likely to continue for several more days, said Martine van Bijlert of the Afghanistan Analysts' Network.
"The demonstrations are a combination of religious outrage, pent-up frustration and groups wanting to stir trouble," she wrote in an analysis.
"It is difficult to predict how bad things will get; this will depend largely on who manages to control -- or hijack -- the expressions of anger."
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