Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has apologized to the Afghan people, following reports that religious materials, including the Quran, might have been inappropriately dumped and burned by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

美国国防部长帕内塔向阿富汗人民道歉，此前有报道说美国驻阿富汗部队可能不当丢弃或焚毁宗教物品，包括可兰经。

Reports of what might have been the mishandling of religious materials have triggered demonstrations outside Bagram Air Base north of Kabul, prompting U.S. and NATO officials to issue quick apologies.

不当处置宗教物品的报道导致在喀布尔北部巴格拉姆美国空军基地外发生了抗议行动，致使美国和北约官员迅速做出道歉。

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called the reported incident "deeply unfortunate" and said the action do not represent the views of the United States military.

美国国防部长帕内塔表示，发生这一事件“非常不幸”，并说那种行为并不代表美国军方的观点。 这一声明由帕内塔的发言人里特尔传达。

"There were religious materials, including copies of the Quran that were inappropriately handled. And for that, we are apologizing. That is inappropriate," said Little. His statement was conveyed by Panetta’s spokesman, George Little.

他说：“被不恰当地处置的宗教物品中包括可兰经文本， 对那种做法，我们特此表示歉意，那是一种不当行为。”

Reports quoting witnesses at Bagram Air Base say U.S. soldiers dumped the materials at a site where rubbish is usually incinerated. Little says it is unclear whether the materials were burned.

报道援引巴格拉姆空军基地的目击者说，美国士兵将有关物品丢弃在一个经常焚烧垃圾的地方。里特尔说，目前还不清楚这些物品是否被焚烧。

"Something inappropriate occurred with respect to the treatment of these religious materials" Little added. "We understand how sensitive the treatment of religious materials is to the Afghan people and to others."

他说：“发生了不适当处理宗教物品的问题。我们理解，这些宗教物品如何处置对阿富汗人民和其它人是多么敏感的问题。”

NATO has ordered an investigation that is being carried out jointly with the Afghan government.

北约命令就此和阿富汗政府一道展开调查。

Officials are not saying where the materials might have come from or why they were being discarded. They say the U.S. military normally abides by a set of rules for the appropriate disposal of religious materials.

有关官员并没有提及这些物品可能来自何方以及军方为何要将它们处理掉。他们说，美国部队有一套规则，告诉人们如何处置宗教物品，通常军人必须遵守。

Officials say they have ordered the retraining of troops to ensure they understand how religious materials should be treated.

有关官员说，他们已经命令重新培训部队，保证人人清楚应该如何处置宗教物品