An American soldier has been disciplined and ordered from Iraq for using a copy of the Koran for target practice at a shooting range near Baghdad.
Such an act of desecration of the Muslim holy book could inflame anger against the US military presence in Iraq.
Saeed al-Zubaie, head of a US-allied Sunni Arab tribal council in the area where the Koran was found, said the book had been used as target practice. It was peppered with 14 bullet holes and offensive language had been scrawled inside, he said.
"I was feeling bitterness, but as long as they apologised we are OK with them. Our anger has cooled," said Zubaie, adding that Sunni Arab tribal units who work alongside US forces in the area had threatened to quit unless the military took action.
The US television news network CNN said that when senior US commanders went to the village where the Koran was found to apologise, they were met by hundreds of protesters.
Colonel Bill Buckner, a US military spokesman, said commanders were ordered to swiftly investigate after Iraqi police found the Koran on May 11 at a firing range in Radwaniya village 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," Buckner said in a statement.
"They have also undertaken disciplinary action against the soldier who was involved and he has been removed from Iraq."
Besides being shipped out of Iraq, it was not clear what other disciplinary action had been taken against the soldier. His whereabouts were not immediately known.
In his statement, Buckner stressed that the US military respected Islam and the Koran.
Reuters