Germany To Probe Troops’ Atrocity ‘Prank’

A top German officer promised an aggressive investigation Saturday into a videotape that allegedly shows Bosnia-bound troops pretending to carry out rapes and executions.

The tape, to be shown on German television Monday, was made as an apparent prank during breaks in training for assignment to the NATO-led peace force in Bosnia.

The video has already become an embarrassment for the German army as it tries to shed restraints lingering from World War II and assume a more active role abroad.

The Defense Ministry said Friday that the tape was made in early 1996.

Soldiers were divided into “practice townspeople” and “practice enemies,” the ministry said. To play their parts, they wore civilian clothes or phony military uniforms.