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Sniper taken from Iraq after shooting Quran

BAGHDAD — A U.S. sniper was removed from Iraq after he used a copy of the Quran for target practice, the military said Sunday.

The removal announcement came a day after a U.S. commander apologized to Sunni tribal leaders.

Iraqi police found the Quran on a firing range near a police station in Radwaniyah, a former insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, said a U.S. military spokesman, Col. Bill Buckner.

U.S. commanders launched an inquiry that led to disciplinary action against the unidentified soldier, Buckner said.

Sheik Ahmed Khudayer al-Janabi, a local tribal leader, said a protest march was planned Thursday but was called off under pressure from U.S. forces and to prevent any insurgent violence as retaliation.

"I come before you here seeking your forgiveness," Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond said Saturday at a ceremony in Radwaniyah. "In the most humble manner, I look in your eyes today and I say, please forgive me and my soldiers."

"The actions of one soldier were nothing more than criminal behavior," he said. "I've come to this land to protect you, to support you — not to harm you — and the behavior of this soldier was nothing short of wrong and unacceptable."

The commander also read a letter of apology by the shooter. Tribal leaders, dignitaries and local security officials attended the ceremony.

In other news:

•Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said provincial elections will be staggered over several days to ensure voters' safety and prevent the rigging of results. The elections are to be held before Oct. 1 and will be the first provincial vote in Iraq since January 2005. The next general election is not due until December 2009.

•Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Ahmed Ali Ahmed, an al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, had been sentenced to death for the slaying of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was kidnapped in February in Mosul. Rahho's body was found buried.