German troops shock government with Afghanistan photos

BERLIN (AFP) - Chancellor Angela Merkel promised tough action after German soldiers in Afghanistan were photographed playing and posing with a human skull.

"The chancellor has made it clear that she finds these pictures shocking and disgusting," government spokesman Thomas Steg said, adding that Merkel wanted the troops responsible to face "strict measures."

Germany's top-selling newspaper Bild on Wednesday printed the photographs of four German soldiers from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force displaying a skull like scalp hunters.