The U.S. military is investigating an airstrike in Kunduz, Afghanistan,
early Saturday that appears to have struck a hospital run by
Doctors Without Borders, killing at least 19 and injuring 37.
The international aid organization has condemned the attack “in the
strongest possible terms” and demanded an independent investigation into
the circumstances that led to the airstrike.
In a statement, Doctors Without Borders said 19 people were killed at
the hospital including 12 staff members and seven patients, three of
them children. The 37 wounded included 19 staff members.
In a statement, the coalition in Afghanistan acknowledged that U.S.
forces conducted an airstrike in Kunduz early Saturday at 2:15 a.m.
local time "against insurgents who were directly firing upon U.S.
service members advising and assisting Afghan Security Forces in the
city of Kunduz. The strike was conducted in the vicinity of a Doctors
Without Borders medical facility."
"This attack is abhorrent and a grave violation of International
Humanitarian Law," said Meinie Nicolai, president of Doctors Without
Borders. "We demand total transparency from Coalition forces. We cannot
accept that this horrific loss of life will simply be dismissed as
‘collateral damage.'"
"All indications currently point to the bombing being carried out by
international Coalition forces. MSF demands a full and transparent
account from the Coalition regarding its aerial bombing activities over
Kunduz on Saturday morning," said a statement from Doctors Without
Borders, which is known in French as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
“MSF also calls for an independent investigation of the attack to ensure
maximum transparency and accountability," the statement continued.
"A full investigation into the tragic incident is underway in
coordination with the Afghan government," U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash
Carter said in a statement. "While we are still trying to determine
exactly what happened, I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to
everyone affected.
"The area has been the scene of intense fighting the last few days,"
Carter said. "U.S. forces in support of Afghan Security Forces were
operating nearby, as were
Taliban fighters."
Gen. John Campbell, the top U.S. and coalition commander in Afghanistan,
phoned Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani earlier today to express
his condolences.
"While we work to thoroughly examine the incident and determine what
happened, my thoughts and prayers are with those affected. We continue
to advise and assist our Afghan partners as they clear the city of
Kunduz and surrounding areas of insurgents. As always, we will take all
reasonable steps to protect civilians from harm,” Campbell said.
A one-star general will head the investigation into the airstrike, a U.S. official told ABC News.
On Thursday, the Afghan government claimed it had retaken main parts of
Kunduz which had come under Taliban control on Monday, but the city
continues to be the scene of intense fighting as Afghan security forces
clear out Taliban fighters from pockets of the city.
Sayed Hussaini, a spokesman for the Kunduz police chief, told ABC News
that Taliban fighters were firing at Afghan forces from a building
adjacent to the hospital.
"As the ground forces were going building to building to clear the area
they were engaged with Taliban close to the hospital," Hussaini said.
"The Taliban were firing on them from the wall beside the hospital on them," he added.
A U.S. official told ABC News that an American AC-130 gunship was
operating in the area and firing at a position the Taliban was using to
fire on U.S. special operations forces serving alongside afghan special
operations forces as advisers. U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan
serve as advisers but when under fire they are allowed to return fire
and call in air support to defend themselves.
The official said the hospital was in an active combat area and that
officials are still trying to determine the circumstances of the damage
caused to the hospital and whether Taliban were firing from inside the
hospital or whether the hospital was hit inadvertently.
The
AC-130 “Spectre”
gunship is a fixed wing propeller aircraft that can provide close air
support to ground troops. It is equipped with a howitzer that can strike
repeatedly at ground targets.
According to a Doctors Without Borders statement, between 2:08 a.m. and
3:15 a.m. local time, its trauma hospital in Kunduz “was hit by a series
of aerial bombing raids at approximately 15-minute intervals. The main
central hospital building, housing the intensive care unit, emergency
rooms and physiotherapy ward, was repeatedly hit very precisely during
each aerial raid, while surrounding buildings were left mostly
untouched.“
"The bombs hit and then we heard the plane circle round," said Heman
Nagarathnam, MSF Head of Programs in northern Afghanistan. "There was a
pause, and then more bombs hit. This happened again and again. When I
made it out from the office, the main hospital building was engulfed in
flames. Those people that could had moved quickly to the building's two
bunkers to seek safety. But patients who were unable to escape burned to
death as they lay in their beds."
Doctors Without Borders said the aerial attack took place despite the
fact that it had recently provided the hospital’s GPS coordinates to the
coalition and Afghan government on Tuesday. At the time of the attack,
the hospital was treating 105 patients and more than 80 medical staffers
were present.
In a statement of condolences, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
said, "Doctors Without Borders perform extraordinary humanitarian work
across the world, including in Afghanistan. They play an important role
in helping create the conditions for a better future for the Afghan
people."
Triebold has stumbled
upon an entirely new species. So what does Ava look like? “A fat pony
with a big head and horns,”
