KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Muslim leaders in an Afghan province hit by deadly violence over allegations that Islam's holy book was desecrated at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay urged American authorities to investigate and respond within three days, officials said.

About 500 Islamic scholars and tribal elders gathered in Faizabad, 310 miles northeast of the capital, Kabul, to pass a resolution calling for anyone found to have abused the Quran to be punished, said Maulawi Abdul Wali Arshad, head of the religious affairs department in Badakhshan province.

Arshad and the provincial police chief said the scholars demanded a ``reaction'' from U.S. authorities within three days, but they denied reports that the scholars threatened to declare a holy war if the deadline was not respected.

Demonstrations spread across Afghanistan last week following a Newsweek magazine report that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had placed Qurans in washrooms and flushed one copy down the toilet to spook inmates.

Fifteen people died and scores were injured in subsequent clashes between protesters and security forces, prompting U.S. promises to investigate the allegations.