BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say they have deported 46 Afghans whose asylum requests were rejected to their homeland.

The flight from Munich arrived Wednesday in the Afghan capital, Kabul. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Eleonore Petermann says the 46, all men, were sent back by authorities in 11 of Germany's 16 states. She said that 15 of them had committed criminal offenses of varying seriousness.

News agency dpa reported that German authorities have sent 349 people back to Afghanistan since December 2016.

Flights were interrupted for a while after a bomb attack partially destroyed the German Embassy in Kabul last year, and then were limited to a smaller group including those with criminal records.

The government said in June that it no longer sees a reason to hold back on deportations on security grounds.