UN workers killed in Afghanistan out of revenge for Florida Koran burning

At least seven foreign workers have died after hundreds of angry protesters stormed a United Nations building in Afghanistan Friday in retaliation against the burning of a Quran by a fringe American pastor in Florida last month.

The violence began when demonstrators gathered at the Blue Mosque in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif after Friday prayers and marched toward the headquarters of the UN mission.

A small group reportedly broke away from the main crowd and overwhelmed security personnel at the compound, seizing weapons from the guards and firing on the embassy.

"This was an outrageous and cowardly attack against UN staff which cannot be justified under any circumstances and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said to reporters while visiting the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Ban confirmed that UN employees had been killed, though he said "the details are not completely clear".

Reports are circulating that those killed included local and foreign employees, UN guards and Nepalese Gurkha soldiers hired to protect the building. Two of the foreign workers were beheaded while the others were shot.

At least five of those killed included locally hired Afghan security guards, police sources report. Bodies continue to be brought to the hospitals, suggesting that the death toll may rise.

Popular Afghan television channel Tolo TV reported that the top UN official in the city, Staffan de Mistura, was among the victims. But Mistura's actual condition has yet to be confirmed.

A Koran was burned by preacher Wayne Sapp in Florida after a mock trial was overseen by Pastor Terry Jones of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida. The church said on its website that the Koran would be "executed" if it was "found guilty of causing murder, rape and terrorism".

Later on the website, the church posted that the "Koran was found guilty" during the mock trial and that a copy of the Islamic holy book was burned inside the building.

The following day, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on the US government to prosecute those responsible for burning the Quran.