BAGHDAD (AFP) - A US soldier has been removed from his unit in Iraq for shooting a Koran during target practice, the American military said on Sunday as a top American general apologised for the desecration.

The unidentified soldier was disciplined after Iraqi police discovered the Koran, the Muslim holy book, with bullet holes and graffiti inside its cover last week at a firing range west of Baghdad, the US military said.

Major General Jeffrey Hammond, commander of US forces in Baghdad, met community leaders from Radhwaniya in the capital's western outskirts and issued a "formal apology," the CNN network said.

"I come before you here seeking your forgiveness," Hammond told tribal leaders on Saturday. "In the most humble manner I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers."

Another military official kissed a Koran and presented it as "a humble gift" to the tribal leaders during an "apology ceremony," CNN said, adding that the soldier had also apologised.

"I sincerely hope that my actions have not diminished the partnership that our two nations have developed together," Hammond said, quoting from a letter written by the soldier.

"My actions were shortsighted, very reckless and irresponsible, but in my heart (was not) malicious," the soldier was quoted as saying.

Tribal leaders, dignitaries and local security officials attended the ceremony, while residents carried banners and chanted slogans including "Yes, yes to the Koran" and "America out, out," CNN said.

The soldier, a staff sergeant, was removed from Iraq following a preliminary investigation.

"The soldier in question is being disciplined due to his actions in shooting a Koran," a US military official told AFP. "We hold all of our soldiers fully accountable for their actions."

US military spokesman Colonel Bill Buckner said they viewed the incident "as both serious and deeply troubling," but stressed it was an "isolated incident and a result of one soldier's actions."

"Coalition commanders have since briefed local leaders on the results of the investigation and expressed their deep regret," Buckner said. "They have also undertaken disciplinary action against the soldier who was involved and he has been removed from Iraq."

There had been allegations of attacks against mosques since the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, but the latest incident is one of the most serious known desecrations of a holy symbol.

"This incident is not representative of the professionalism of our soldiers or the respect they have for all faiths," Buckner added.

There was no immediate reaction from the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Malki.

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