German troops suspected of running anti-Semitic chat group, report says

Several German soldiers have been suspected of organising a chat group relating to anti-Semitism, right-wing extremism and pornography.

According to Reuters, many of the 26 soldiers belong to a logistics unit in Neustadt am Ruebenberge in northern Germany, the defence ministry said in a report to parliament dated Friday and first reported by public ARD television.

Civilian and military prosecutors launched a probe immediately after the accusations became known in October.

Three of the soldiers have so far been banned from wearing a uniform and working for the military, the document said, without elaborating.

In a similar case in June, Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer disbanded a company of the army's elite KSK special forces after recurring incidents involving far-right extremism.