At least nine people were killed in southern Afghanistan Saturday in a second day of protests against a Quran burning by a radical Christian church in the United States.
Security forces fired shots to disperse an angry group of protesters as they marched through the streets of Kandahar city, setting cars and buildings on fire.
The riot in Kandahar came a day after protesters stormed the United Nations complex in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, killing seven foreign workers, following a demonstration against the Quran burning.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Afghan President Hamid Karzai by phone Saturday that he was "saddened and shocked by the attack."
Leaders of the Florida church that burned the Quran in an anti-Islamic demonstration have denied having any responsibility for the ensuing violence.
Also Saturday, NATO officials say insurgents wearing women's clothing attacked a coalition base in Kabul.
NATO says three militants - two of them suicide bombers - were killed when they attacked Camp Phoenix in the Afghan capital. Three NATO service members were slightly wounded.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.