Missing aid workers

German officials believe that, "with a likelihood bordering on certitude," the two bodies were those of the missing Germans. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has expressed his condolences to the family members of the two German nationals.

A formal identification has however not yet taken place, according to the German Foreign Ministry. The Afghan interior ministry and the chief of police in Parwan, where the bodies were found, have also declined to comment on the identity of the two dead men.

According to media reports, the two are believed to be Siegbert S., 69 and Willi E., 59. They were kidnapped while hiking in the Salang pass and are reported to have been missing since August 19. Their bodies were found in the mountains north of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. The two bodies were recovered and handed over to US soldiers on Tuesday. No group has taken responsibility for kidnapping the pair.

Development organizations confirm employees' deaths

Siegbert S. was a priest with the Protestant development aid service, the Christustraeger Brotherhood. He had been working in Afghanistan since 1971 and based in Kabul since 2009. Willi E. was an agricultural scientist working with the German aid organization, the GIZ. Both organizations have confirmed the deaths of their employees.

Attacks and kidnappings of German humanitarian aid workers in Afghanistan have been on the increase in recent years. In December 2010, an employee of the German development bank, the KfW, was shot dead in north Afghanistan while he was working on a road construction project.

Author: Manasi Gopalakrishnan (dpa, AFP, EPD)
Editor: Grahame Lucas