USA TODAY International Edition
22 killed in bombing of Afghan hospital
U. S. airstrike is suspected as Taliban reported to have used site as a base
Doctors Without Borders withdrew Sunday from the northern Afghan city of Kunduz and increased to 22 the death toll from a U. S. airstrike that destroyed its hospital early Saturday.
U. S. and NATO officials promised a swift investigation into the strike, and controversy quickly swirled.
The Pentagon issued a statement saying U. S. forces were conducting an airstrike in Kunduz against “insurgents who were directly firing upon U. S. servicemembers advising and assisting Afghan Security Forces.” The statement said the strike took place “in the vicinity” of the Doctors with Borders hospital.
The Afghan news agency Pajhwok, citing Afghan officials, said the helicopter gunships returned fire from Taliban fighters who were hiding in the facility. The Associated Press said its video footage of the burned out compound shows automatic weapons, including rifles and at least one machine gun, on windowsills.
Kate Stegeman, a spokesperson for the organization, denied the claim. The compound gate was closed all night, Stegeman said, and “only staff, patients and caretakers were inside when bombing occurred.”
NATO has directed a preliminary multi- national investigation, and an initial report could be issued within days, the Pentagon said. The U. S. military also is conducting a thorough probe, the statement said.
Stegeman said 12 hospital staff and 10 patients were killed in the attack. She said the hospital is no longer functional, and some staff were working in two other health facilities in the city where some of the wounded were sent. Dozens of people were wounded in the attack.
President Obama expressed his “deepest condolences” to those killed and injured and promised a thorough investigation.
Doctors Without Borders said the hospital was hit several times during “sustained bombing.” Its president called it a “grave violation of international humanitarian law,” and the United Nation’s top human rights official said it may prove to be a war crime.
The Taliban seized the besieged city of 300,000 last week but gave back some ground when government forces swept back into the area. Fighting has continued, and the city has struggled to maintain basic services.
The office of Gen. John Campbell, commander of U. S. forces in Afghanistan, said the strike was conducted against insurgents firing on U. S. servicemembers, who have been advising and assisting Afghan security forces in their effort to clear the area of insurgents.