BERLIN, May 27 (Xinhuanet) -- German Defense Minister Peter Struck dismissed a newspaper report Thursday that said German peacekeepers in Kosovo had been involved in torture.

    He said that an investigation had turned up no evidence supporting the report.

    The article in the mass-circulation tabloid newspaper Bild reported that photos are circulating among international peacekeeping soldiers in Kosovo that show German soldiers in torture scenes.

    The newspaper did not say it had the photos and did not give further details.

    Although he thought the report baseless, he had ordered an investigation into the allegation since he "could not let such an accusation against our soldiers stand," said Struck.

    After considerable research, no torture photos could be found, he stressed.

    Struck also criticized the newspaper for careless reporting, saying it was unfair to the soldiers serving in Kosovo.

    Germany has been a part of the NATO-led international peacekeeping mission in Kosovo since 1999 and there are 3,900 Germans among the 17,500 peacekeeping soldiers there. Enditem