New Allegations

Bundeswehr and Defense Ministry officials have demanded proof following accusations of a mock assassination by German daily Berliner Morgenpost, which reported the alleged incident in its Sunday edition.

The paper quoted an unnamed, non-commissioned officer who claimed to have seen a solider call over an Afghan boy while on a routine patrol in 2002, and then watched as the solider put the boy in a headlock and held a loaded gun to the child's head while other troops took pictures.

"The boy was incredibly scared until he realized that he was not really going to be shot," the paper quoted the solider as saying. The boy was then given a dollar as "a reward."

The witness was quoted as saying he did not come forward earlier to avoid having to "run the gauntlet."

Without providing further details, the paper alleged the episode, which it said occurred in Kabul, was not an isolated incident and did not publish any photographs associated with the non-commissioned officer's allegations.

Ministry promises to investigate

A spokesperson for the Defense Ministry called on anyone with knowledge of the incident or others like it to come forward immediately in order to "quickly investigate the allegations."

"We call on whoever is claiming this to provide us with the necessary proof without delay so that we can investigate the allegation thoroughly and quickly," a ministry spokesman said.

Winfried Nachtwei, the opposition Green party's spokesman on security affairs, said the charges needed to be cleared up as soon as possible. Nachtwei told RBB radio these allegations of abuse, if proved true, would be much more serious than other scandals that have recently troubled the Bundeswehr.

"This would have a different quality than the macabre, obscene games with skeletons," he said. "Because here a child could have been tormented, and this goes diametrically against the Bundeswehr's orders."

Parliament wants more information

The issue needs to be addressed in Wednesday's meeting of the parliament's defense committee, according to Birgit Homburger, a member of the opposition free-market liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).

"The FDP is calling for an inspection with the goal of determining what types of training and preparation soldiers receive when they are deployed," she said.

Sunday's allegations come on the heels of photographs published at the end of October showing German troops desecrating skulls and bones in Afghanistan, and a separate set of photos showing soldiers driving a jeep painted with a slightly altered version of the insignia used by Nazi soldiers.

Military officials last week said they had suspended a total of six soldiers about their roles in the skull desecration while questioning over 20 others for additional information.