Mission Creep?

Officers have published a letter in the online newspaper Netzeitung accusing Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung of misleading the country about the mandate of the mission.

The group, who belong to an army association called the "Darmstädter Signal," dispute Jung's repeated assurances that it is not a combat mission.

"The results of the reconnaissance flights will be used directly to support the combat led by ground troops and fighter aircraft," they said.

Defense ministry spokesman Thomas Raabe on Friday rejected their argument as "false."

Opponents' argument

The same claim was made by political opponents of the Tornado mission, which was approved by parliament last week with 405 votes to 157.

The German military has 2,750 soldiers in the relatively stable north of Afghanistan, but has resisted pressure from NATO allies to extend its mandate to the south where they would likely face combat against the Taliban.

Raabe confirmed reports that an officer who organizes logistical support for German forces in Afghanistan has filed an application asking to be relieved of these duties because he had misgivings about the Tornado deployment.

The soldier argues that the mission might contravene both the German constitution and international law.

Controversial

The mission has sparked considerable controversy in Germany.

The nation remains wary of sending troops into combat six decades after the end of World War II and a recent poll showed that 77 percent of Germans did not want the Tornados sent to

Afghanistan.

Two conservative MPs launched a court application to stop the deployment but it was rejected.

A group linked to al Qaeda last Sunday warned Germany and Austria that their presence in Afghanistan has made the countries targets for militant attacks.

Another militant group said it would kill a German woman and her son being held hostage in Iraq unless Berlin began withdrawing its soldiers from Afghanistan within 10 days.