German soldiers kill five Afghan troops

BERLIN - German soldiers killed five Afghan troops who were riding in two civilian cars that did not stop at a check post, the German military said Saturday.

The incident occurred late Friday near Kunduz, the capital of the northern Afghan province also called Kunduz, said the German army’s Operations Command in Potsdam, outside Berlin.

The two cars drove toward German soldiers who were on duty and did not stop for checks so an armoured vehicle opened fire on one of the cars, it said.

A spokesman for the German Operations Command said the German army regretted the incident, which would be investigated.

It followed a clash Friday between German soldiers and Taliban militants that killed three Germans and injured eight, also near Kunduz.

The soldiers were on a mine-clearing operation when they came under attack by around 100 Taliban fighters, German military officials said.

It was the highest number of casualties the postwar German armed forces have suffered in battle and brought to 39 the number of German soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Germany has around 4,500 troops in the country. Most of them operate in provincial reconstruction teams, helping to build up Afghanistan’s infrastructure, but have increasingly been subject to attacks.