A report to be published on Monday in the German weekly magazine, Der Spiegel, says the six German nationals were taken into custody in May on the Iranian border.

The magazine reports that among those arrested is the brother-in-law of Munir Shuka, a spokesman for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a militant group that is said to have links to the al-Qaeda network.

The detainees also include a German converted to Islam and his wife of Eritrean origin along with their four-year-old daughter, according to the report.

The six were said to have claimed to be Turkish and to have lost their documents. It was not until August, when Pakistani intelligence took over the case, that their identity was established.

Bid to secure group's release

Since then the German authorities have been trying to secure the release of the woman and the child, Der Spiegel said, adding that all six were now expected to be expelled to Germany.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Berlin has now confirmed the case, saying that efforts were under way to secure the release of the detained Germans.

Der Spiegel said two of the detainees had told consular officials they wanted to "join the jihad", and had complained of ill-treatment at the hands of Pakistani security forces.

Pakistani authorities have also arrested a Tunisian who had lived in Germany but whose residence permit had expired.

rb/AFP/AP
Editor: Andreas Illmer