Five US soldiers took part in last week's apparently accidental burning of Holy Qurans in Afghanistan, but they are unlikely to face public trial, the Wasshington Post reported Friday. Citing US military officials, the Post said an investigation had established that the soldiers removed the Holy Qurans from a prison at Bagram air base, north of Kabul, after they were found to contain extremist messages.
The books were placed in an office for safekeeping, only to be mistaken for garbage and taken to a landfill where Afghan employees identified them as Holy Qurans just as the pages caught fire, according to the investigation. The military officials also said that while the five soldiers would face reprimand, it was unlikely their names would be released or that they would be put on public trial, the Post reported on its website.