Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd on Saturday condemned the attack on UN headquarters in Afghanistan that has left 11 people dead.

On Friday, demonstrators protested against the burning of the Koran by a U.S. pastor at the UN headquarters in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The demonstrations turned to a violence incident, killing 11 people, including eight UN employees.

In a joint statement, Gillard and Rudd sent their condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those killed, to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and to the special representative of the secretary general, Staffan di Mistura.

The pair expressed their shock and deep concern at the deadly attack, and called on UN not to allow this outrage to impede the vital work it undertakes in Afghanistan and many other trouble spots around the world.

"We utterly condemn this brutal and senseless attack," Gillard said in the statement released on Saturday.

Rudd said such attacks were deplorable, and the Australian government calls on those responsible for this crime to be identified and prosecuted for this grave offense.

He added that UN had been a steadfast friend of Afghanistan, and was dedicated to building peace and stability in the war-torn nation.

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