Paderborn, Germany - The remains of a schoolgirl who was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered in Germany were being flown to her ancestral home in Turkey Friday as police admitted they had no idea yet who killed Kardelen, 8.

The child's naked body was found Thursday in woods 60 kilometres from her home in the northern German city of Paderborn.

Police pathologists identified the body and confirmed she had been sexually attacked.

At a memorial service Friday in Paderborn, so many people attended that the imam moved the Islamic prayers outdoors so that everybody could take part. The killing has outraged residents of the city.

The girl's surname has been withheld on privacy grounds. The mosque said her remains were being taken to the German city of Dusseldorf to be carried by air to her parents' hometown in Turkey.

Prosecutor Ralph Vetter said investigators were confident the inquiry would move forward quickly, with 50 police officers checking out
300 leads from the public, including a report that the girl was seen alive with an adult on a dam, near where her body was found.

Kardelen was last seen Monday when she went out to play. On Wednesday, items of her clothing were found alongside a road near a reservoir, the Moehnesee. Later, police sniffer dogs found her body in woods, hidden under fir branches. (dpa)