Berlin  - Four German soldiers received a new military decoration for bravery on Monday, more than 60 years after the last Iron Cross was awarded for valour in battle.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented the men with the Cross of Honour for Bravery at a ceremony in Berlin.

The medal was introduced last year for "especial valour at risk of physical danger or death" during peacekeeping and other dangerous assignments.

The four soldiers were honoured for their service after a Taliban attack in the north Afghanistan region of Kunduz on October 20, 2008.

A suicide bomber sneaked on their vehicle and blew himself up, killing two German paratroopers as well as five Afghan children.

At the risk of their lives, the soldiers were able to rescue a seriously wounded soldier immediately and stood by another one trapped inside the burning vehicle, the Defence Ministry said.

The medal is in the shape of the iron cross, with a golden Maltese cross at the centre, superimposed by a German eagle. It is held by a ribbon in the colours of the national flag, adorned with double oak leaves.

It was the military's first bravery award since the Iron Cross, first used in 1813 by the kingdom of Prussia and a common award in Nazi Germany until its defeat in 1945.

Germany's armed forces or Bundeswehr currently has around 7,200 troops serving abroad, more than half of them in Afghanistan.(dpa)