France and Germany are following the US and Britain in withdrawing civilian¹ staff from Afghan government institutions in the wake of the killing² of two senior US Nato officers.

两名美国籍北约高级官员在阿富汗被杀，美国与英国随后从阿富汗政府机构撤离文职人员，法国与德国也随之效仿。

Afghan authorities are hunting a 25-year-old Afghan policeman believed to have shot the officers dead at the interior ministry³ in Kabul on Saturday.

France and Germany said they were acting⁴ on security concerns.

Afghans saw new violence on Sunday at protests over a Koran-burning incident.

Several American troops were injured in a grenade attack in Afghanistan, hours after President Karzai went on national television to appeal for calm amid anger at the burning of copies of the Koran at a US military base.

Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said tensions were "running very high", adding that he thought "we need to let things calm down, return to a more normal atmosphere, and then get on with business".

"This is not the time to decide that we're done here. We have got to redouble our efforts. We've got to create a situation in which al-Qaeda is not coming back," he told CNN.

Main suspect hunted

France's foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday that its embassy in Kabul was temporarily withdrawing all French civilian mentors⁵ and advisors⁶ from Afghan government institutions.

The move, thought to affect several dozen staff, could be rescinded⁷（解除） once "conditions permitted", the statement added.

Germany ordered its "German and international experts in agencies and ministries⁸ to be withdrawn⁹".

Afghan officials earlier named police intelligence officer Abdul Saboor from Parwan province as the main suspect behind Saturday's attack.

The identities of the dead Nato officers have not been confirmed, but they are believed to have been an American colonel and major.

Reports said the gunman opened fire in a secure room in the ministry - one of the highest security buildings in the capital - at close range.

Mr Saboor had served in several Afghan ministries and had worked at the interior ministry for some time, with responsibilities for security arrangements and access to top level intelligence briefings and secure radio communication channels.

His family home in the Salang valley area of Parwan province, north-east Afghanistan, was raided overnight and his relatives in Kabul detained, said officials.

Nato withdrew all its personnel from Afghan ministries after the shooting. Britain and the US withdrew civilian advisors from the ministries on Saturday.