[JURIST] A panel of 11 members of the German parliament [Bundestag website] began its investigation into the role of German intelligence in the war in Iraq Friday. The committee will focus on 30 questions posed by the Free Democratic Party, the Left Party and the Greens [party websites in German], Germany's opposition parties, in reaction to an internal investigation which found the German intelligence service, BND [official website in German], clear of any wrongdoing. The panel will include one member from each of these parties, in addition to four from each of the power-sharing parties, the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats [party websites in German].

The hearings will re-examine the BND's role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when the country was officially opposed to the war, in addition to allegations that BND intelligence contributed to the seizure of Khaled el-Masri [JURIST report] and that German officials interrogated detainees [JURIST report] in Afghanistan. AFP has more.