A German patrol near Faizabad in northern Afghanistan came under attack late on Tuesday, the German Defence Ministry reported on Wednesday. A firefight ensued, and German troops severely wounded a man who died as Afghan police transported him to medical treatment facilities.
But Badakhshan Province police chief, Agha Noor Keentoz, told German news agency DPA that the man killed was not an insurgent, but an unarmed shepherd. The man used hand gestures to signal the soldiers not to approach his herd, Keentoz said. But Afghan security forces found the man’s corpse on Wednesday morning and brought him to a provincial hospital.
Military police are investigating the incident along with German state prosecutors, the German Defense Ministry said. German laws of military engagement allow soldiers to fire their weapons only in the case of attack or imminent danger.