U.S. commander: Afghan forces called in deadly hospital strike in Kunduz

The top commander in Afghanistan said on Monday that the deadly U.S. air strike on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz was called in by local Afghanistan government forces, not Americans.

Initial reports said the Oct. 3 attack, which killed 19, was ordered by U.S. special operations forces.

But Army Gen. John Campbell said that Afghan forces were taking fire from the Taliban and radioed for air support.

“The Afghan forces called in for fire to support them because they were under direct fire,” Gen. Campbell said at the Pentagon.

“W have U.S. Special Forces that continue to train, advise and assist at the tactical level, but I think the impression that people got after the first couple days is they were firing directly on U.S. forces, and what I’m telling you today is as I’ve talked to the investigating officer, as we continue to get updated information, that that was not the case.”

Left unclear was whether the strike was called on the hospital or some target nearby or whether Taliban were firing from the medical center.

The investigation is being led by Brig. Gen. Richard Kim, who is now in Kunduz.

“If errors were committed we’ll acknowledge them. We’ll hold those responsible accountable and we will take steps to ensure mistakes are not repeated,” Gen. Campbell said.

The strike aircraft was an AC-130 gunship, which fires cannon and machine gun rounds.

Christopher Stokes, general director of Doctors Without Borders, issued a statement responding to Gen. Campbell’s version of events.

“Today the U.S. government has has admitted that it was their air strike that hit our hospital in Kunduz and killed 22 patients and staff. Their description of the attack keeps changing — from collateral damage, to a tragic incident, to now attempting to pass responsibility to the Afghanistan government.

“The reality is the U.S. dropped those bombs. The U.S. hit a huge hospital full of wounded patients and MSF staff. The U.S. military remains responsible for the targets it hits, even though it is part of a coalition.”