BERLIN, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- German tanks may be rolling in Afghanistan soon, after a leasing request for Leopard 2 tanks came from the Canadian armed forces.
Ottawa has asked Berlin if it could lease roughly 20 Leopard 2 A6M tanks especially protected against land mines, German news magazine Der Spiegel said in its latest issue which hit the newsstands Monday.
The request came after Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the German producer of the highly successful Leopard series, was unable to quickly deliver the new tanks.
Canada wants to lease the A6M model for two years, Der Spiegel said, and buy another 80 models from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann over the coming years.
The German Defense Ministry will agree to the deal, the magazine said.
The Canadian forces in Afghanistan have to endure some of the heaviest fighting in the volatile south of the country, where resistance of the Taliban is strongest.
