Two German journalists working for the country's national broadcaster and traveling on their own through northern Afghanistan were killed on Saturday by gunmen, the Afghan government said.

The two — a man and a woman — were killed by unidentified gunmen while travelling through Baghlan province, said Zemari Bashary, the Interior Ministry spokesman. He said the two had been spending the night in a tent.

The two worked for the German news agency Deutsche Welle, according to Wakil Asas, a reporter for the company in Kabul. Mr. Asas said the two were not based in Kabul and had only been in Afghanistan a short time.

The journalists were travelling on their own and were not embedded with a military unit, said Maj. Dominic Whyte, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

Deutsche Welle, Germany's state-owned broadcast outlet, produces news for radio, television and the Internet.