The US commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan has apologised over reports that foreign troops had improperly disposed of copies of the Koran. In a statement, General John R Allen ordered a full investigation. In his statement, Gen Allen said that the investigation will examine whether troops at Bagram air base improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Korans. Gen Allen went to offer his sincere apologies for any offence this may have caused, including to the president of Afghanistan, the Afghan government and the noble people of Afghanistan. He said, when we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them. Reports of the alleged Koran burning have led to a large protest outside the Bagram air base.