German military chief resigns over Afghan air strike

By Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - The head of Germany's armed forces and a senior Defence Ministry official were forced to resign on Thursday over reports the military withheld details about a September 4 air strike that killed civilians in Afghanistan.

Opposition parties also called on Franz Josef Jung, defence minister at the time and now labour minister, to step down in what could become a major embarrassment for Chancellor Angela Merkel just as she considers sending more troops to Afghanistan.

In a speech to parliament, Jung's voice faltered as he told the Bundestag lower house what he knew about the attack, noting he had been aware of the existence of a military police report into the deaths which his critics have seized on.

"But I didn't have any concrete knowledge of the report," he said, prompting laughter from opposition lawmakers.

Jung said the report had been passed on to NATO and that he had informed parliament correctly throughout, adding he had never ruled out civilian casualties. He gave no indication he was about to resign.

Germany's Bild newspaper reported on Thursday that videos and a secret military report had clearly pointed to civilian casualties at the time Jung and the military were denying them.

Asked about the air strike ahead of a parliamentary debate on the matter, Merkel stopped short of endorsing Jung, a member of her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).

The strike, ordered by a German commander and carried out by a U.S. F-15 fighter, was the deadliest operation involving German troops since World War Two, killing 69 Taliban fighters and 30 civilians, according to the Afghan government.