Merkel in surprise Afghan visit: spokesman

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere have arrived in Afghanistan for a surprise visit, a German government spokesman said early Friday.

Merkel and de Maiziere went to the German forces' headquarters in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the spokesman said, without giving details of the visit which comes six days after the death of a German soldier, part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.