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The German daily Bild Zeitung has published a report based on sources from German military circles saying that members of a German elite task force were involved in the ordering of the September airstrike near Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, which killed up to 142 Afghans, including civilians. The taskforce, codenamed 'Taskforce 47', was reportedly made up in part of soldiers belonging to the Kommando Spezial Kraefte (KSK), or the German Special Forces Command. Colonel Georg Klein, who was in charge of security of the German military base near Kunduz, was reportedly in consultation with at least five officers before ordering the airstrike; all five of these officers belonged to 'Taskforce 47'. It remains unclear if any of these soldiers were part of the KSK.
The German daily Bild Zeitung has published a report based on sources from German military circles saying that members of a German elite task force were involved in the ordering of the September airstrike near Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, which killed up to 142 Afghans, including civilians.
The taskforce, codenamed 'Taskforce 47', was reportedly made up in part of soldiers belonging to the Kommando Spezial Kraefte (KSK), or the German Special Forces Command.
Colonel Georg Klein, who was in charge of security of the German military base near Kunduz, was reportedly in consultation with at least five officers before ordering the airstrike; all five of these officers belonged to 'Taskforce 47'. It remains unclear if any of these soldiers were part of the KSK.
German defense minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg made an unnanounced visit to Afghanistan on Friday. He is touring Kunduz, the northern Afghan city where a German commander ordered a NATO airstrike on two hijacked fuel trucks two months ago. The airstrike was reported to have killed over 140 people, including civilians and has led to a scandal over alleged cover-ups. A German defense ministry statement said Guttenberg wanted to visit Kunduz to get a first-hand look at the current situation in the war-torn country. Under pressure from the public Guttenberg has been faced with increasing pressure from the German public to reveal all of the known details behind the NATO airstrike. Guttenberg has recently stated that the attack was "militarily inappropriate", reversing an earlier statement, but opposition parties have said he should have known when he made his first assessment about the civilian casualties. The news weekly Stern reported that Guttenberg had at that stage already received a report from the International Committee of the Red Cross which mentioned 74 civilian deaths, including children.
German defense minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg made an unnanounced visit to Afghanistan on Friday. He is touring Kunduz, the northern Afghan city where a German commander ordered a NATO airstrike on two hijacked fuel trucks two months ago. The airstrike was reported to have killed over 140 people, including civilians and has led to a scandal over alleged cover-ups. A German defense ministry statement said Guttenberg wanted to visit Kunduz to get a first-hand look at the current situation in the war-torn country.
Under pressure from the public
Guttenberg has been faced with increasing pressure from the German public to reveal all of the known details behind the NATO airstrike. Guttenberg has recently stated that the attack was "militarily inappropriate", reversing an earlier statement, but opposition parties have said he should have known when he made his first assessment about the civilian casualties. The news weekly Stern reported that Guttenberg had at that stage already received a report from the International Committee of the Red Cross which mentioned 74 civilian deaths, including children.
In diesen Tagen ist Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg eher Selbstverteidigungsminister als Verteidigungsminister. An diesem Freitag ist er überraschend mit Parlamentariern zu einem Tagestrip nach Afghanistan geflogen, um mit den Soldaten in Kundus zu reden. Zivilisten sei "fürchterliches Leid" geschehen, sagt er im Frühstücksfernsehen.
