Man killed as Afghan crowd attacks Norwegian base

reuters: Afghan police opened fire on a mob trying to storm a NATO peacekeeping base housing Norwegian troops on Tuesday as protests over cartoons depicting Islam's Prophet Mohammad flared again.

One person was killed and several wounded in Maymana, Faryab province, when police opened fire to break up the crowd of about 1,000 protesters, police chief Khaliullah Ziaye said.

A resident of Maymana said the crowd threw petrol bombs and stones at the camp manned by Norwegian troops and a military vehicle was torched.

A spokeswoman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul said grenades had also been thrown during the protest, but no Norwegian troops had been hurt.

"ISAF is operating under difficult circumstances and is exercising the fullest possible restraint. Reinforcements have been sent," a NATO official in Europe said.

A Norwegian defense forces spokesman said protesters had also fired guns.

"The situation is still out of control, but we have established some kind of a show of force with F-16s" which overflew the city, Norway's defense ministry said. Two Norwegians had been slightly injured, he said. Read more