Afghan calls for trial for U.S. troops involved in riot-sparking road crash

Photo: Afghan calls for trial for U.S. troops involved in riot-sparking road crash

Meanwhile, hundreds of Taliban militants overran a police district headquarters -the latest sign that the Afghan government has only shaky control of the countryside.

The National Assembly, or lower house, passed a nonbinding motion after debating Monday's anti-foreigner riots that paralyzed the capital, sparked by the crash in which a U.S. truck plowed into a line of cars, killing up to five Afghans.

Rampaging mobs looted stores and burned some government buildings and offices of international organizations. Up to 20 Afghans were killed and more than 160 wounded, mostly from gunshots. The situation has since calmed, but Kabul remains under night curfew, the AP reports.

The unrest, seemingly fueled by widespread poverty and unemployment, has added to Karzai's woes as militant supporters of the Taliban regime ousted by U.S.-led forces in late 2001 step up attacks and fighting grips the volatile southern and eastern regions of the country.

On Wednesday, Bush spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and pledged a comprehensive probe into the riots in Kabul, White House press secretary Tony Snow said.

A U.S. military spokeswoman, Lt. Tamara D. Lawrence, said she had not seen the parliamentary motion and declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Karzai, Khaleeq Ahmed.

It seems unlikely the motion would lead to any action. U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan come under American military jurisdiction, although foreigners working on civilian projects are generally subject to Afghan law.