The Australian Defence Department has confirmed that several hundred Afghan locals turned on Australian soldiers after a rumour that diggers were burning copies of the Koran.

It has been reported that the soldiers were conducting a regular burn-off of rubbish and documents in a pit north of the main army base near Tarin Kowt when an angry mob of local men threw rocks and forced the soldiers back into the base.

One person - not an Australian soldier - was shot in the incident.

The Defence Department has released a statement confirming that there was an incident outside one of its bases in the Chora Valley region in Uruzgan Province.

It says it was caused by rumours that Australian soldiers had been involved in burning the Koran and suggests it could have been deliberatly started by the Taliban to stir up trouble.

Although the rumours were wrong, a large number of protesters gathered outside the base and started throwing rocks and trying to get through the perimeter of the base.

Australian troops, coalition forces and members of the Afghan national army helped to defend the base.

The Defence statement also says that one protester aimed an AK-47 rifle at one of the coalition soldiers, who then shot the protester.

Defence says it is unclear what the condition of the protester is, but he was certainly wounded.

The environment is already tense with the election underway today and in the past week there has been the anniversary of September 11 and the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

There is also the wider issue of anger over the discarded plans of US pastor Terry Jones to burn copies of the Koran.