Soldier tributes

At a ceremony in a military camp in north Afghanistan, German troops have honored the three soldiers who died in a Taliban attack on Friday.

"We had all hoped this day would never come," said the ISAF commander for north Afghanistan, Brigadier Frank Leidenberger. "On April 2, our hope was destroyed."

Joining the soldiers and officers in paying tribute to the fallen men was German Development Minister Dirk Niebel, who had extended his Afghanistan trip by a day so he could attend the service.

"German soldiers will not be intimidated by such malicious violence," Niebel said. "With our allies, we will continue the fight over terrorism in Afghanistan and for a peaceful, stable and secure country."

The soldiers who died were on a mine clearing operation near the town of Kunduz when they came under attack from around 100 Taliban, military sources said.

The Germans were operating together with Afghan troops and other members of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Deadly Friday

The violence on Friday killed three soldiers from the German state of Lower Saxony, and wounded eight more. Four of the wounded were transported to a military hospital in Germany for treatment of serious injuries.

German troops also accidentally shot and killed six Afghan soldiers late on Friday, mistaking them for Taliban combatants.

Chancellor Angela Merkel phoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to express her regret for the deaths. Karzai expressed his condolences at the death of the three Germans who died in the Taliban ambush.

Civilian support

After meeting with German soldiers on Saturday, Niebel said recent violence that had killed and wounded German soldiers illustrated how dangerous the situation was.

Speaking to weekly newspaper Bild am Sonntag, the minister called for more support for German troops abroad.

"They want people to understand that they have to defend themselves - sometimes also preventatively," Niebel said. "And they don't understand why they have to explain themselves to the German public, or why they could even be prosecuted."

The Bundeswehr's military involvement in Afghanistan is unpopular with the majority of Germans, but Chancellor Angela Merkel and her coalition government see a continuing commitment to the NATO presence in the country as central to German foreign policy.

Germany has around 4,500 troops in the country and is the third-largest NATO contributor to the war. Most of them operate in provincial reconstruction teams, helping to build up Afghanistan's infrastructure, but have increasingly been subject to attacks.

Niebel has been in Afghanistan since Thursday on a visit to inspect development aid.

cb/acb/dpa/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Toma Tasovac