US strike on hospital a mistake
US forces attacked a hospital in northern Afghanistan last weekend, killing at least 22 people, despite "rigorous" US military procedures designed to avoid such mistakes, the top commander of US and allied forces in Afghanistan said yesterday.
Gen John F Campbell told a Senate committee that Afghan forces requested air support Saturday while engaged in combat with Taliban fighters in the city of Kunduz, communicating with US special operations troops at the scene. Those US forces were in contact with the AC-130 gunship that fired on the hospital, Campbell said.
"To be clear, the decision to provide (airstrikes) was a US decision, made within the US chain of command," Campbell said. "The hospital was mistakenly struck. We would never intentionally target a protected medical facility."
Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Campbell said he could not provide more details about what happened, including who may have failed to follow procedures for avoiding attacks on hospitals. He said he must await the outcome of multiple investigations.
The medical clinic that was struck was operated by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders.
Campbell had disclosed on Monday that Afghan troops requested the airstrike.
"Even though the Afghans request that support, it still has to go through a rigorous US procedure to enable fires to go on the ground," Campbell said. "Fires" means weapons fire - in this case howitzer or other fire from the AC-130 gunship.
Comments