Scheffer said he was concerned about his troops after the protests against the film in Afghanistan.

Scheffer said in a television interview that if the troops find themselves in the line of fire because of the film, then he was definitely worried about it and is expressing that concern.

The NATO secretary general's comments came after about 800 people took to the streets of the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Sunday to protest against the film being made by far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders.

The protesters also criticized the recent republication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in several Danish newspapers, and called for the withdrawal of Danish troops.

The Dutch government has warned Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party, which has nine seats in the Dutch parliament, that the film would damage Dutch political and economic interests.

However, Wilders has said that the film is about the Holy Koran and said he expects his 15-minute work will be shown in the Netherlands in March and released on the internet.

The project has already been condemned by several Muslim countries, including Iran and Pakistan.

Agencies

Güncelleme Tarihi: 03 Mart 2008, 15:48