Germany: country shocked by Taliban ambush, Defense Minister speaks about "Afghanistan war"

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The German government for the first time spoke of being at war in Afghanistan after a heavy firefight with 80 Taliban insurgents left three German troops dead.

It was a terrible Good Friday for the NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan: First a German patrol was ambushed near Kunduz by two groups of 40 Taliban insurgents. The heavy firefight, which lasted for several hours, left three Germans dead, severely wounding eight more.

Shortly after the clashes began, another German unit was sent to help their comrades. Yet en route to the ambush, the Germans opened fire on two vehicles that officials in Berlin said would not stop approaching them despite warnings. Six Afghan troops in the vehicles were killed. While Germany says the troops approached in civilian cars, Kabul says they were military vehicles.

The ambush and the so-called “friendly fire” incident sparked concern in Germany, where popularity for the Afghanistan mission is waning.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to apologize for the friendly fire incident, which is being investigated by NATO as well as the German and Afghan defense ministries.

In a televised news conference Sunday, Germany’s Defense Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg broke with a longtime mantra — for the first time ever, a German official spoke of war in Afghanistan.

via Germany shocked by Taliban ambush – UPI.com.

This happens while Afghan president Karzai has threatened to join the Taliban. Experts consider that he is positioning himself for a post-NATO scenario.

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