Serious is that it was executed at the instructions of the U.S. military authorities.

The burning has instantly infuriated the people all over Afghanistan.

Over 2 000 Afghanistan people gathered on Feb. 21 outside Bagram base, shouting "death to the U.S.", throwing stones into the base and burning tires.

Protesters also gathered in Jalalabad and a lot of other cities to denounce the GIs' desecration of Islam, burning the U.S. flags.

As the situation turned worse, the senior authorities of the U.S. kept them busy, apologizing to the Afghanistan people and vowing to delve the case.

But the anti-U.S. demonstration has swept across 13 provinces of the country beyond a few cities.

This also has sparked off worldwide anti-U.S. demonstration.

Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in the capital city in Malaysia on Feb. 24, denouncing the U.S. troops in Afghanistan for killing Muslims and desecrating Islam.

In Karachi of Pakistan, too, youths rallied to protest.

Ahmad Khatami, Iran's high cleric, referring to the incident on Feb. 24, said it was a deliberate act stemming from Washington's hatred for Islam, not just a simple mistake.

The apology made by the U.S. government officials was merely cosmetic, he said.

Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood in a statement on Feb. 25 said the apology by the U.S. president is not enough, calling for sending those who burnt the Quran copies to the International Criminal Court.