GERMAN DEFENCE minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg faces fresh claims of a cover-up of events surrounding a lethal airstrike in northern Afghanistan last September.
The German government has justified the bombing, which reports say killed about 120 people including up to 70 civilians, by saying it prevented Taliban insurgents transforming two petrol tankers they had hijacked into “rolling bombs”.
That claim was always questioned by critics of the attack, who pointed out that the tankers were stuck in the mud of a riverbed.
Berlin’s claim appeared to be contradicted by leaked Nato reports claiming that Taliban insurgents at the scene, not the tankers, were the target of the bombing.
The leaked Nato reports confirm claims that Col Georg Klein, who ordered the airstrike, worked in collaboration with TF-47, a group of German elite soldiers, who had contact with local informants on the ground.
“The mission was mainly initiated and made possible by TF-47,” said one Nato analysis cited in German media at the weekend. The report goes on: “It’s hard to explain why the focus of the [German commander] was on the Taliban in the target area and not solely on the stolen tankers, which were clearly the most dangerous threat to troop security.”
Mentioning Col Klein by name, the report adds: “He wanted to attack the people, not the vehicles.”
Berlin describes its mandate as part of Nato’s mission to Afghanistan as one of “stabilisation and civilian reconstruction”. It was unclear last night whether the government will revise its position after the latest revelations. After attacking early critics of the bombing, Berlin admitted last week the attack order was “militarily inappropriate”.
Mr Guttenberg has brushed off opposition criticism of his handling of the scandal, pointing out that he was not defence minister at the time of the attack.
His predecessor, Franz Josef Jung, resigned after just a month as labour minister in response to the scandal.
“Colonel Klein is someone who acted on that night in good conscience, and wanted to protect his soldiers,” said Mr Guttenberg on a surprise trip to Afghanistan.
A parliamentary inquiry into the bombing will meet this week. After weeks of revelations, opposition leaders demanded a full explanation from chancellor Angela Merkel. “Dr Merkel has to explain whether targeted killing is a part of the government’s Afghanistan policy and whether the chancellor and secret services have approved this strategy,” said Green Party co-leader Jürgen Trittin.
Paul Schäfer, defence spokesman of the Left Party, said that such measures were only permitted under Operation Enduring Freedom, for which Germany’s mandate has expired. “As far as I am aware, the German mandate in Afghanistan does not allow such a form of targeted killing,” he said.
Germany is the third-largest contributor of troops to the Nato mission in Afghanistan, with nearly 4,400 soldiers deployed.