US apologises for leaflet offending Muslims

KABUL: A senior US commander in Afghanistan has apologised for a “highly offensive” leaflet which contained a passage from the Qur’an used in the Taliban militants’ banner superimposed on to the image of a dog.

The Taliban said the leaflet showed American hatred of Islam, adding that it had launched a suicide attack near the entrance to the US Bagram Air Field, in revenge.

The image, distributed by US forces in Parwan province, north of Kabul, on Tuesday, showed a section of the Taliban’s banner superimposed on to the side of a dog – an animal considered unclean by Muslims. The banner contains a passage from the Qur’an in Arabic.

“The design of the leaflets mistakenly contained an image highly offensive to Muslims and the religion of Islam,” Major General James Linder said.

“I sincerely apologise. We have the deepest respect for Islam and our Muslim partners worldwide,” he said, adding that an investigation would be held “to determine the cause of this incident and to hold the responsible party accountable”.

Parwan governor Mohammad Hasem condemned the leaflet as “unforgivable”.

“Those who have committed this unforgivable mistake in the publicity, propaganda or media section of the coalition forces will be tried and punished,” he said. Reuters