Germany suspends 2 soldiers: Skull scandal

BERLIN: Two German soldiers have been suspended following the publication of photographs of troops holding a human skull in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said on Friday.

"Two soldiers have been suspended from their duties," the minister told reporters in Berlin.

They are being investigated on suspicion of disturbing the peace of the dead, which is a legal offence in Germany punishable by up to three years in prison.

The scandal broke on Wednesday when Bild newspaper ran pictures of Bundeswehr soldiers mounting a skull on a vehicle bearing the German flag and the name of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

It escalated when a television channel aired similar pictures which it said were taken in Afghanistan in March 2004, a year later than those published in Bild.

German state prosecutors today told Bild they were investigating criminal charges against seven suspects in total.

Jung has said most of the suspects had completed their tour of duty and left the army, but vowed that those still with the Bundeswehr would be dismissed.