A suicide bomber targeted a German military patrol in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing one soldier and injuring six others, German officials said, dpa reported.
In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the attack as "cowardly."
The Defence Ministry said two of the wounded were in grave condition. A German news website, Bild.de, said doctors believed one of them was so critically wounded that he would probably die.
The bomber, who had strapped explosives around his body, detonated himself close to the Germans in Baghlan Province, provincial governor Munshi Abdul Majeed said.
Alam Khan, a member of the provincial council, said that the bomber targeted the German forces close to the city of Puli Khumri, the provincial capital. He said the area was cordoned off by German troops.
German accounts said the patrol had been deployed to guard a road leading into the town. The Germans came under mortar and rifle fire after the detonation and the skirmish apparently lasted for several hours.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed one of the group's bombers, Qari Rohullah, had carried out the attack, killing eight soldiers. The Taliban often exaggerates numbers of its victims, analysts said.
Up to 5,350 German soldiers are based in the northern region, as part of the 150,000-strong, NATO-led contingent currently stationed in Afghanistan.