Von der Leyen, who is from Merkel's party, said the NSA case had "shaken confidence" in the United States.

Since May 2013 the bank has been under investigation, with outside experts screening all existing customer records.

Mosul, some 400km (250 miles) north-west of Baghdad, was last month seized by Isis-led (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) insurgents.

At least 66 Palestinians have been killed in the violence, more than 50 of them civilians, Gaza medical officials said.