Nov 9, 2009, 16:58 GMT
Prague - Czech Defence Minister Martin Bartak said Monday he has suspended three soldiers over a scandal in which two of them were reported to have worn Nazi symbols during NATO's mission in Afghanistan.
The move came after the Czech newspaper, Mlada Fronta Dnes, reported that two Czech officers wore symbols of SS divisions on their helmets while serving earlier this year with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in south-eastern Afghanistan.
The newspaper published photographs incriminating one of the two soldiers, who were recently decorated for their service in the Afghan province of Logar.
The minister said in a statement he was suspending both officers and their commander, whom the report has accused of hushing up their misconduct.
Bartak said the behaviour of the two officers was unacceptable and has cast the Czech army in a bad light.
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