Nineteen persons were killed and more than 50 injured in Afghanistan on Friday in new protests against American interrogators' desecration of Islamic holy book Quran, local police and residences said.

Three persons were killed, and 31 were injured in Baharak district of northeastern province of Badakhshan when the protestors conflicted with local police, provincial police chief Shah Jahan Noori told Xinhua.

About 1,500 students and civilians walked on the street to protest against US desecration on the Quran, and they had conflicts with the police as the procession passing the office of Non-governmental Organizations (NGO), Noori said.

"The police clashed with the protestors when they set fire on three NGO offices of Mission East, Gardian and Focus. Three persons died, 31 injured including two policemen," Noori added.

On the same day, 15 persons were killed when local police clashed with protestors in central province of Ghazni, about 100 km south of Kabul, residents here said.

"About 2,000 civilians attended the protest, and clashed with police. Both the policemen and some armed civilians shot each other. Till now, 15 killed including at least one policeman, and 22 injured including the provincial police chief." Voice of Ghaznawian, a local radio station reported Friday.

Besides these two bloody incidents, there was another policeman killed in the northwestern province of Badghis when having conflict with the protestors, a resident said. But the local government refused to confirm it.

The influential US-based magazine, Newsweek in its latest edition disclosed that US servicemen in Naval base detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had put Quran in toilet to psychosocially punish suspected Taliban militias held there.

To condemn the reported Quran abuse, Afghans from all segments particularly the students came out on Tuesday to streets in Jalalabad, the provincial capital of eastern Nangarhar province, demanding the punishment of those behind the offence.

The demonstrations turned bloody on Wednesday when clash erupted between personnel of law enforcing agencies and protestors that left five dead and some 70 injured.

At least three protestors lost their lives in Thursday's procession in Khogyani district of Nangarhar province when police opened fire to disperse them.

Friday's deaths increase the number killed in protests this week to 27, and more than 100 injured. Buildings including UN offices, police stations and government premises have been attacked.

(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2005)