KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan police and US troops opened fire to control hundreds of rioting students yesterday angered at alleged abuse of the Quran at the US jail in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, killing two protesters and injuring 40, officials said.

The shooting occurred in the eastern city of Jalalabad, where demonstrators smashed the windows of cars and shops and threw stones at a passing convoy of American soldiers. Mobs also broke into UN compounds and burned two cars. No UN staff were reported hurt.

"They are very angry and are spread over all over the city," intelligence chief Sardar Shah told the Associated Press. "There are police, army and Americans shooting into the air. ... We've tried to get control but I think it is impossible."

At one point, officials said students chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Bush" threw stones at a group of American military vehicles. US troops had fired into the air before quickly leaving the area, he said.

A US military spokeswoman in Kabul had no information on the incident.

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