Germany investigates soldier after Afghan civilians killed

BERLIN (Reuters) - German prosecutors are investigating a German soldier on suspicion of manslaughter after an Afghan woman and two children were shot dead at a checkpoint last week, officials said on Tuesday.

The three Afghan civilians were killed when security forces, including German troops, opened fire on a vehicle at the checkpoint near Kunduz.

Germany's Defence Ministry has said two civilian vehicles had stopped at the checkpoint but the forces fired warning shots when one of the vehicles started moving.

"A member of the checkpoint (forces) has been accused of manslaughter," Helmut Lange, spokesman for the investigating authorities in Potsdam said.

NATO forces have been fighting a fierce insurgency by Taliban militants since 2005 and Berlin is under pressure from its allies in the defense alliance to boost its troop levels and transfer soldiers to the more dangerous south of the country.

About 3,500 German troops are deployed in Afghanistan and twelve soldiers have been killed in attacks. Another 16 German soldiers have died in accidents or from other causes.

(Reporting by Hans-Edzard Busemann, Writing by Madeline Chambers)