(Bloomberg) -- German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung today ordered the suspension of two soldiers who posed for photos with a human skull during a 2003 mission with ISAF peace- keepers in Afghanistan. The pictures were published this week. Snapshots of German soldiers holding human remains appeared in the Bild Zeitung newspaper on Oct. 25, prompting the army to launch an investigation to find the culprits. Further photographs depicting soldiers from other units stationed in Afghanistan were published by RTL television yesterday. Tampering with human remains is a punishable offence in Germany Jung told reporters outside parliament that the army had suspended two of the six soldiers depicted in Bild's photos. ``I've also asked the Inspector-General of the Army to review troop training before and during service'' in Afghanistan. Jung has called the photos ``loathsome.''
Publication of the photos may highlight gaps in the leadership and discipline of Germany's troops in Afghanistan as its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization pressure Chancellor Angela Merkel to boost troop numbers in the country.