Police fired warning shots to disperse hundreds of stone-hurling Afghans on Wednesday in the latest in a series of protests against Quran burning in the U.S. At least five people were wounded, two from gunshots. 
 
 An Afghan man cries as he hears that the desecration of a Quran in the United States, during a protest after morning prayers outside a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. The protest... (Associated Press) 
 
 Police officers arrest a suspected protester after a protest against alleged burning of Quran turned violent in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. Protests were held in different parts of... (Associated Press) 
 
 Afghans holding chapters of the Quran shout anti-U.S. slogans at a protest after morning prayers outside a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. The protest was held after reports of... (Associated Press) 
 
 Afghans shout anti-U.S. slogans at a protest after morning prayers outside a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. The protest was held after reports of the desecration of a Quran in... (Associated Press) 
 
 Policemen charge a handful of protesters after a protest against alleged burning of Quran turned violent in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. Protests were held in different parts of city... (Associated Press) 
 
 A car passes by as stones and a bullet casing remain on the road after a protest against alleged burning of Quran turned violent in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. Protests were held in... (Associated Press) 
 
 Police officers stand guard to prevent further tension after a protest against alleged burning of Quran turned violent in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. Protests were held in different... (Associated Press) 
 
 Policemen chase after protesters following a rally against a once-planned Quran burning in the U.S., in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das) (Associated Press) 
 
 The topic of Quran burning has stirred outrage among millions of Muslims and others worldwide after a small American church in Florida threatened to destroy the holy book to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Although that church backed down, several copycat burnings were posted on the Internet and broadcast in the Muslim world. 
 
 But Afghan police have claimed that the Taliban are deliberately using the anger to turn the rallies into anti-government protests ahead of this week's parliamentary elections. 
 
 Up to 800 protesters gathered at a square on the outskirts of the capital, Kabul, chanting "Death to America" and listening to fiery speeches from Muslim clerics demanding the ouster of the Afghan government and calling for foreign troops to leave the country. 
 
 The protesters burned tires and hurled stones at police officers, who responded with assault rifle firing into the air. 
 
 Khalil Dastyar, deputy Kabul police chief, said the protest started peacefully, but the crowd eventually charged the police. 
 
 "Police opened fire to stop the charge," he added, claiming the protesters fired toward the police with pistols. 
 
 An Associated Press reporter saw at least three wounded protesters, hit by police batons. Hospital officials said two other people had gunshot wounds. 
 
 Cleric Enayat Ullah said at the protest that he was "ready to sacrifice my life for the Quran, we came here to defend our holy book." 
 
 Police officer Mohammad Fahim said he doubted that the Quran burning was the main aim of the protest. 
 
 "They say they are protesting because of the Quran, but what I saw among the protesters were our enemies, the Taliban," he said. "They want to sabotage the security ahead of this week's elections." 
 
 Parliamentary elections take place Saturday. The Taliban has vowed to target polling stations and has warned Afghans not to participate in what it calls a sham vote. 
 
 Similar protests have been mounted across this Muslim nation in recent days. Hundreds protested on Sunday, and two people were killed in that unrest. In another protest by thousands on Friday, 11 people were injured. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this report. ||||| KABUL (Reuters) – Police fired into the air to disperse thousands of anti-American protesters in Afghanistan's capital Wednesday, witnesses and police said, with one person killed and at least five wounded. 
 
 Demonstrators chanted "Death to America," "Death to Christians," and "Death to Karzai," the latter referring to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in the biggest protests since unrest erupted last week over plans by a U.S. pastor to burn the Koran. 
 
 "There are more than 10,000 of the demonstrators and some of them are waving the Taliban flag," police officer Mohammad Usman. 
 
 The protests come three days before a parliamentary election which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt. The election is a key test of stability in Afghanistan before U.S. President Barack Obama conducts a war strategy review in December. 
 
 They follow three days of protests at the weekend over plans by an obscure U.S. pastor, which he later abandoned, to burn copies of the Koran to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks on the United States. 
 
 Three people were killed in those protests. Observers including the top U.N. diplomat in Afghanistan had warned the Taliban may try to exploit the Koran-burning protests. 
 
 A police source later said one person had been killed and five wounded, and that the toll could rise. The protests were the Reuters television pictures showed protesters waving large white flags, the symbol used by Taliban supporters. 
 
 A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the hardline Islamist group was aware of the protests but had no role in them. 
 
 "People may have raised the Taliban flags to show their sentiment and sympathy for the Taliban," Mujahid told Reuters from an undisclosed location. 
 
 At the Pul-e-Kandahari, or Kandahar bridge in Kabul, police were ordered to advance toward one group of hundreds of protesters who were throwing stones and shouting "Death to American slaves" at police. 
 
 Police were seen firing into the air and dragging away several protesters. At one point, volleys of gunfire could be heard. The protesters scattered, some sheltering in nearby houses in the mainly ethnic Pashtun and Tajik area of Kabul. 
 
 The protesters earlier gathered in the west of the capital, burning tires and blocking a main highway link to the south. Thick black smoke rose above the area and police kept journalists several hundred meters back. 
 
 Reuters witnesses at the scene saw two unconscious people, covered in blood, being carried away suffering what appeared to be gunshot wounds. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Paul Tait and Sanjeev Miglani)
– Afghan police today fired into a crowd of rock-hurling anti-American demonstrators chanting "Death to America," "Death to Christians," and "Death to Karzai" in Kabul today. One was killed and at least five injured, two from gunshots. The US Koran-burning controversy has stirred days of outrage and protests among millions of Muslims and others worldwide, notes the AP; today's protests were the largest so far, Reuters adds. Afghan police say the Taliban are using this anger to fuel anti-government sentiment ahead of elections next week. "There are more than 10,000 of the demonstrators and some of them are waving the Taliban flag," says one officer.