By IRNA,
Berlin : German soldiers rained gunfire on a carload of innocent civilians in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz late Thursday evening, killing a woman and two children, the German army announced on its website on Friday.
“Based on what we know now, evidence has been obtained at the scene suggesting that the shots fired at the vehicle came from German guns,” the army was quoted saying.
“Whether shots were fired at the vehicle from the other side has yet to be conclusively clarified,” the military added.
Four more children were injured when German troops shot at the car which ignored an order to stop at a checkpoint near Kunduz, Afghan police announced earlier in the day.
The German army stressed for the time being there were “no grounds to accuse any of the German soldiers of wrongful conduct.” German civilian prosecutors have been updated on the deadly shooting and have reportedly launched a probe of the incident.
On Wednesday, a German soldier was killed and three others injured during a remote-controlled roadside bombing near Kunduz.
Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung conceded earlier this week a worsening of the security situation in northern Afghanistan, where German troops are based.
Germany has deployed around 3,500 soldiers in northern Afghanistan and Kabul as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in addition to police instructors and civilian reconstruction workers.
Some 28 German soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since January 2002, according to official statistics.