 It was unclear on Friday night whether, after four days of protests, the violence that has rolled through the country was finally spent, or if the Koran burning had uncorked an inexhaustible well of fury over the continuing presence of Western troops after 10 years of war. Both agencies, he said, “have invested a lot in this country and they have people loyal to them, and this is a perfect time for the intelligence apparatus of the neighboring countries to ignite people’s fiery emotions which would lead them to violence.” 
 
 Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 Two protesters died in Khost Province, near the Pakistan border, and one in Baghlan Province. At one point as the two groups neared each other, protesters threw rocks and shouted, but the police did not fire and eventually moved the protesters back. “That is our job, but If I were an ordinary person, not a policeman, I would have joined the demonstrations.” 
 
 NATO said it was still investigating what led to the decision to burn Korans and other religious texts. U.S. President Barack Obama had sent a letter to Karzai apologizing for the unintentional burning of the Korans at NATO's main Bagram air base, north of Kabul, after Afghan laborers found charred copies while collecting rubbish. “We want an open trial for those infidels who have burned our Holy Koran.” 
 
 Mohammed Anwar, an off-duty police officer, had joined the protesters on Friday and seemed barely able to contain his fury.
– Protesters are rallying once again to decry the burning of Korans at Bagram, with more shouts of "death to America"—and deaths—throughout the country. The New York Times reports that gunfire was audible as demonstrators assembled at a Kabul mosque following Friday prayers. Another 4,000 people carrying sticks and rocks moved toward the center of the city; some waved Taliban flags and had a jihadist slogan written on their clothes: "I sacrifice myself." Demonstrations occurred in at least six more provinces throughout Afghanistan, and Reuters reports that nine more were killed today: seven in the western province of Herat, and two in Khost in the east. Meanwhile, Germany says it has withdrawn troops from an outpost in northern Afghanistan amid the protests. The German military had planned to shutter its base in the Taloqan area in late March, but the 50 remaining soldiers have been transferred out of the base in light of the demonstrations, reports the AP. And at home, Obama is facing GOP criticism for his apology.