An American sniper was removed from Iraq after he used a copy of the Koran for target practice, the military said yesterday, a day after a U.S. commander held a formal ceremony apologizing to Sunni tribal leaders.

The elaborate ceremony - in which one U.S. officer kissed a copy of Islam's holy book before giving it to the tribal leaders - reflected the military's eagerness to stave off anger among Sunni Arabs it has been cultivating as allies.

The tribesmen have become key in the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq militants, who depict the American forces as anti-Islamic occupiers. One anti-U.S. Iraqi Sunni group condemned the Koran shooting, calling it "a hideous act." Similar perceived insults to Islam have triggered protests throughout the Muslim world.

Iraqi police found the bullet-riddled Koran with graffiti inside the cover on a firing range near a police station in Radwaniyah, a former insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, U.S. military spokesman Col. Bill Buckner said.

American commanders launched an inquiry that led to disciplinary action against the unidentified soldier, who has been removed from Iraq, Buckner said.

Members of the local U.S.-allied group said the Koran was found with 14 bullet holes in a field after U.S. troops withdrew from a base in the area. Sheik Ahmed Khudayer al-Janabi, a local tribal leader, said the group had planned a protest march Thursday but called it off under pressure from U.S. forces and to prevent any insurgent violence as retaliation.