Two American officers were shot inside Afghanistan’s interior ministry after a fifth day of protests over the burning of a Koran at a Nato base.
A Nato spokeswoman confirmed that two of their servicemen had been shot dead in central Kabul by an individual who turned his weapon on them. She did not say if the killer was a member of the Afghan military or police.
However the Taliban claimed responsibility for the shootings, which it said were in retaliation for the desecration of the Korans at Bagram airfield earlier this week.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an e-mailed statement to the media that four high-ranking Americans had been killed, though the Islamist group often exaggerate and inflate claims of casualties.
As a result the British embassy is withdrawing all its staff from Afghan buildings in Kabul following the shootings.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “As a temporary measure the British Embassy has withdrawn civilian mentors and advisors from institutions within Kabul. We will keep the situation under review.”
The Koran burnings underscored the deep cultural divide that still exists more than 10 years after U.S. troops invaded to oust the Taliban and has deepened public mistrust of Western troops struggling to stabilise the country.
An Afghan security source said the shooting of the two Americans in the Interior Ministry could be connected to the burning of the Korans.
Burning the Koran is not just burning 'another book'
It was at Bagram, the notorious US airbase north of Kabul on the lush Shomali plain, where, somehow, several copies of the Koran ended up heading for the burn-pits, slung out with all manner of other rubbish. Nobody noticed. It was Monday night. Perhaps nobody cared. Until at least one Afghan local worker on the base noticed the Korans - then all hell broke loose.
Read more on Alex Thomson's blog
Protestors have been on the streets since Afghan labourers discovered charred copies of the Koran while collecting rubbish at the Bagram airbase during the week.
The security leaders have offered assurances that the books were not burnt intentionally, and the US president Barack Obama has apologised for it.
However thousands have taken to the streets in protests and twelve people were killed and dozens wounded on Friday, the bloodiest day yet in demonstrations.
On Thursday, an Afghan national army soldier joined the protests and gunned down two American soldiers.