Germany probes photo of army car with Nazi-era emblem

BERLIN, Nov 1 (Reuters) Germany launched an inquiry today into a report that soldiers used a car with a Nazi-era emblem, adding to fears over the conduct of its troops after a scandal over desecrating human skulls in Afghanistan.

In an article to published on Thursday, weekly magazine Stern shows a photo of an off-road vehicle used by German soldiers with a palm tree and iron cross on it.

The vehicle with the palm tree emblem was used by members of the German ''Bundeswehr'' army's elite KSK unit, Stern said.

During World War Two, Nazi Germany's famed ''Afrika Korps'' under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel used a similar emblem, albeit with a swastika instead of an iron cross, the traditional symbol of the German military.

''A couple of our young men are stuck in the past and thought it was cool to drive around with this Wehrmacht (Nazi army) emblem,'' a KSK soldier, who was not named, told Stern.

''I and others found it sickening,'' said the soldier.

Thomas Raabe, spokesman for the defence ministry, said the matter was under investigation.

Stern said the photo appeared to have been taken at a camp in Oman where German soldiers were preparing for deployment in Afghanistan, where some 2,800 German troops are helping to stabilise the war-torn country. It was unclear when the photo was taken.

Rommel, nicknamed the ''Desert Fox'', was a top Nazi military commander but was later accused of supporting an attempt to assassinate Hitler and was pressured to commit suicide.

The public display of Nazi symbols is a crime in Germany and would not be tolerated among German soldiers stationed abroad.

SOLDIERS SUSPENDED Earlier, Raabe said the army had suspended four more soldiers for involvement in the desecration of human skulls in Afghanistan, taking the total number of suspensions to six.

The number of suspects being investigated had risen to 23 from 20, he told reporters. Of those, 16 are active soldiers.

A week ago, Germany's top-selling daily newspaper Bild printed pictures of German soldiers in Afghanistan posing with human remains, including skulls. The paper said the pictures had been taken more than three years ago.

The pictures caused outrage in Germany with top politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, describing the troops' behaviour as inexcusable and vowing to punish those involved.

Further images followed, including one photograph purporting to show a German soldier carrying out a mock execution of a skeleton assembled from various human remains.

The emergence of more pictures raised fears that the problem was more than just an isolated incident.

REUTERS PDM HS2214