Pentagon Official Apologizes For Quran Burning

STERLING, Va. (AP) — A senior Pentagon official apologized Friday to Washington-area Muslims for the burning of Qurans at a military base in Afghanistan.

Peter Lavoy, acting assistant secretary of defense for Asia and Pacific security affairs, said the military is investigating and that all troops are being retrained in the handling of religious materials.

Lavoy made the remarks Friday at a mosque in suburban Washington, D.C. They come after protests across Afghanistan over the burning of several Qurans at a U.S. military base. Military officials say 20 people have died in the protests, including two U.S. soldiers.

President Barack Obama has apologized for the burning, which authorities say was a mistake. But the protests continue.

Pentagon press secretary George Little said Lavoy’s appearance was part of a broad effort by the administration to defuse the controversy.

“This is an issue we know is of concern, not only to Afghans, but to other Muslims around the world, including in the United States,” Little said. “We want to send a strong signal to the American Muslim community that we deplore what happened and apologize for it.”

The mosque’s imam called on Muslims to respond peacefully and with tolerance.