GERMANY/FILE: German government reacts to newspaper pictures purporting to show German soldiers desecrating a skull in Afghanistan

Newspaper pictures purporting to show German soldiers desecrating a skull in Afghanistan sparked outrage in the country on Wednesday (October 25), with top ministers calling the images disgusting and ordering an immediate investigation. A photograph of a smiling soldier in fatigues posing with a human skull was splashed on the front page top-selling German daily Bild under the headline: "Shock photos of German troops". The images, apparently taken more than three years ago, come as the German army is seeking to expand its global role nearly 60 years after World War Two amid public scepticism. Other photographs showed an unidentified soldier clutching the skull next to his exposed penis and the skull resting on the front wing of a light armoured vehicle. German Chancellor Angela Merkel strongly condemned the behaviour of the soldiers shown in the pictures, calling the photographs "shocking and horrible." "The German government will investigate against the soldiers who play a role in this and take the most drastic measures," Merkel said. "Such behaviour is inexcusable," she added. About 3,000 German soldiers are stationed in Afghanistan, mainly in the relatively quiet north and Kabul, in NATO's peacekeeping mission. Last month lawmakers voted to extend the mission, opposed by many Germans, by a year. "So far, we identified one suspect and the investigation is ongoing," senior prosecutor Wilfried Lehmann said. Lawmakers from all parties expressed shock over the photos which come over two years after images were published of U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib jail, a revelation which severely damaged the U.S. army's reputation. Bild did not say how it knew the photos were genuine nor did it say how it obtained the pictures, which it said showed the soldiers during a routine tour around the Afghan capital, Kabul. It quoted an unidentified army member saying the photos were taken in spring 2003 and an army member told Bild the skull could have come from a mass grave. The German army had no comment. Several German newspapers and at least one television station claimed the soldiers came from the "Edelweiss" barracks in Mittenwald, about an hour's drive south of Munich. A German army spokesman said by telephone that "the investigation is ongoing and must first be completed." He refused to confirm or deny that the Mittenwald barracks played a role in the case.

ITN Source | October 26, 2006

Tags:. .abusing. .knew. .extend. .deny. .measures