Hostage Executed

The 44-year-old man was one of two German engineers kidnapped on July 18 in the central province of Maidan Wardak by a local Taliban group with an apparent criminal background.

Afghan police reported on July 22 that they had found the bullet-riddled body of one of the men, which was flown back to Germany last week. The autopsy conducted at Cologne's Institute for Forensic Medicine confirmed Thursday that the man was shot and killed after suffering from circulatory problems during captivity.

"His kidnappers killed him brutally and ended his life in a criminal way," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told AFP news agency during a tour of west Africa. "This is deeply shocking. This crime must not go unpunished."

Foreign ministry spokesman Martin Jäger said the autopsy showed that the engineer had collapsed before the lethal shots were fired. A total of six bullet wounds were found in the body. It had previously been unclear if the man was executed or died as a result of the strain of the situation he was in.

Berlin focuses efforts on German hostage

Efforts are continuing to free the remaining German in captivity, Jäger added.

"Now all our efforts must go towards facilitating the release of the remaining German hostage," Steinmeier said.

Al Jazeera television broadcast a video on Tuesday showing the man against a rocky background in a hilly area. There was no sound on the video, but the channel said the hostage, Rudolf B., had urged the German and US governments to "withdraw their troops from Afghanistan" and to help him return to his family.

The German Foreign Ministry said the video was a deliberate attempt to intimidate. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Berlin will not give in to the kidnappers' demands.

A poll taken by German public broadcaster ARD showed Thursday that 64 percent of Germans wanted to see the Bundeswehr troops pulled out of Afghanistan, an increase of 10 percent compared to last month.

Amnesty calls for all hostages' release

The London-based human rights groups Amnesty International appealed Thursday for the "immediate and unconditional" release of the German hostage as well as 21 South Koreans kidnapped two weeks ago. Two of the South Korean hostages have been killed.

"Hostage-taking is a flagrant breach of international law," said Amnesty International secretary-general Irene Khan. "There are no exceptions to this rule and no justifications for breaking it.

"Hostage-taking and the killing of hostages are war crimes and their perpetrators must be brought to justice," Khan added.

Afghan officials have refused to meet the militants' demands to release prisoners in exchange for the South Korean hostages.