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September 10, 2009 BERLIN: The German officer who called in an air strike in Afghanistan that authorities say killed dozens of people did not have the right to give the order, according to preliminary NATO findings, a newspaper said on Wednesday.German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said a report from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had found that Colonel Georg Klein had overstepped his command in ordering the attack in Kunduz last week.The paper quoted a senior NATO officer as saying it was "crystal clear" that Klein had not kept to the prescribed chain of command, and that he should not have made the decision without checking back with ISAF headquarters.A spokesman for Germany's Defence Ministry, which has been heavily criticised over the incident, said the officer's remarks were based on initial ISAF findings amounting to "a kind of inspection report" that contained unsubstantiated speculation.Before investigations into the matter ...

September 10, 2009 BERLIN: The German officer who called in an air strike in Afghanistan that authorities say killed dozens of people did not have the right to give the order, according to preliminary NATO findings, a newspaper said on Wednesday.German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said a report from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had found that Colonel Georg Klein had overstepped his command in ordering the attack in Kunduz last week.The paper quoted a senior NATO officer as saying it was "crystal clear" that Klein had not kept to the prescribed chain of command, and that he should not have made the decision without checking back with ISAF headquarters.A spokesman for Germany's Defence Ministry, which has been heavily criticised over the incident, said the officer's remarks were based on initial ISAF findings amounting to "a kind of inspection report" that contained unsubstantiated speculation.Before investigations into the matter ...

Thursday, August 27, 2009 BERLIN: The swine flu (A/H1N1) virus has spread throughout the ranks of the German army units operating within the International Security Assistance Force, Media Circle of the German government announced on Wednesday. The German Federal army (Bondsver) reduced flights to Afghanistan in fear of the spread of the A/H1N1 virus in the German army in the northern Afghan areas. German army Command spokesman for the German army in Afghanistan, based in Potsdam near Berlin said that 25 cases of A/H1N1 had been reported at the end of last week in the German military base area of Mazar-e Sharif.