German court drops case in Afghan raid

A court in Germany has ruled that the country is not legally responsible for damages in connection with a bombing that killed nearly 100 civilians in Afghanistan four years ago.

In September 2009, US planes bombed two fuel tankers stolen by Taliban militants near the northern Afghan city of Kunduz. The attack was launched at the request of Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr.

Following the deadly airstrike, two Afghan citizens, who lost their family members in the assault, sued the German government for a total compensation of around 90,000 euros.

On Wednesday, a court in Germany’s western city of Bonn rejected the lawsuit, saying that there had been “no culpable official misconduct” on the part of the German military officers.

Presiding judge Heinz Sonnenberger said that Colonel Georg Klein, who ordered the attack, called in the airstrike after an informant claimed in seven separate phone calls that no civilians were near the tankers.

The ruling can be appealed to a higher court. However, Berlin has said that the attack came under NATO command and could not be blamed on the German government alone.

According to the Bundeswehr, around 100 people lost their lives in the incident, while NATO has said in a report that it believes over 140 people were killed or wounded. Lawyers working on behalf of the victims say 137 people died in the fatal incident.

The attack was described by Germany’s parliament as one of “the most serious incidents” involving the German army since World War II.

Germany has been the third-largest contributor of troops to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, behind the United States and Britain.