UN staff in Afghanistan killed by mob in protest over Quran burning by US pastor

The dead included seven staff at a UN mission in the normally quiet city of Mazar-i-Sharif, who were killed on Friday when several thousand demonstrators stormed the compound after prayers.

Four Nepalese guards at the entrance were killed while three Europeans from Sweden, Romania and Norway were shot after unsuccessfully attempting to barricade themselves in a secure room. Reports in the UK press claimed that two of the victims were also beheaded, while the third had his throat cut.

AFP meanwhile reported that the Russian head of the UN office survived by speaking in the local dialect and pretending to be Muslim.