WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama today said the furor in Afghanistan over the accidental burning of Qurans underscores the need for the U.S. to transition out of the war there.

Obama emphasized that the U.S. still plans to end its combat role in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The drawdown will be a central topic of discussion at the NATO meetings in Chicago in May.

Obama says the recent accidental burning of Muslim Qurans by U.S. forces and the protests that followed underscore the challenges in Afghanistan and why the U.S. is drawing down its combat role there.

Thirty people died in the Quran protests, including six American troops.