Report: German colonel ruled out warning before tanker attack

Sep 19, 2009, 10:52 GMT

   Berlin - A German colonel who called a deadly airstrike on two fuel trucks hijacked by Afghan rebels ruled out a warning that would have let dozens of civilians escape, a news report Saturday claimed.

   Political controversy has erupted in Germany over the September 4 operation, which killed up to 99 Afghans, 30 of them civilians, according to the Afghan authorities. Germany is refusing detailed comment, saying an inquiry is still underway.

   The colonel, serving with the International Security Assistance Force, directed two F-15 fighter-bombers with US pilots to destroy the stolen fuel trucks in an area of Afghanistan where Germans provide security.

   The news magazine Der Spiegel said sources revealed that the pilots had asked the colonel and his chief air-operations officer in Kunduz by radio if they should make a 'show of force' first, meaning an initial fly-by without firing any missiles.

   Spiegel said the colonel had appeared to reject that. He had also been asked via the air-operations officer if there was an 'imminent threat' and if there were 'troops in contact' with the Taliban and had responded 'confirmed' more than once.

   According to Spiegel, that was incorrect, since German troops had not yet left their base to approach the stranded trucks 6 kilometres away.

   The German military has repeatedly declined to comment on the incident until a full inquiry by NATO is complete.

   'We should demonstrate willpower and wait for the inquiry report,' General Wolfgang Schneiderhan, the head of the armed forces, who just returned to Germany from a visit to Afghanistan, was quoted on the military's website Friday.

'We have to be prepared for some details to be established that will require further response from us.'