Germans missing in Iraq believed dead

1.00pm

BERLIN - Two German security specialists whose convoy was ambushed in Iraq earlier this month are believed to be dead, Interior Minister Otto Schily said today.

The two elite anti-terror specialists were heading from Jordan to Baghdad by road when their vehicle was attacked near Falluja two weeks ago.

"Unfortunately I have to record, to my great sadness, that these two security officials have certainly...or with a probability bordering on certainty, been killed," Schily told foreign journalists at a briefing.

He said he had commissioned an investigation into the incident but this had not yet been completed.

The two men were travelling between the Jordanian capital Amman and Baghdad, to take part in a routine changeover of staff at the German embassy.

Dozens of foreigners have been abducted in Iraq amid a worsening security situation in recent weeks, including several who were taken hostage on the dangerous road near Fallujah.

Germany, which strongly opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq last year, does not have troops in the country and has ruled out sending any.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq