US says Afghans asked for air strike at Kunduz hospital

Afghan forces who said they were under Taliban fire asked for the US air strike that killed 22 people at a hospital in Kunduz, the US commander in Afghanistan has said. “An air strike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat and several civilians were accidentally struck,” General John Campbell said on Monday at […]

Afghan forces who said they were under Taliban fire asked for the US air strike that killed 22 people at a hospital in Kunduz, the US commander in Afghanistan has said.
“An air strike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat and several civilians were accidentally struck,” General John Campbell said on Monday at a press conference at the Pentagon.
The general declined to comment on the rules under which the US forces were operating, but he promised a thorough and transparent investigation and pledged “we’ll hold those responsible accountable and take steps to ensure mistakes are not repeated”.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has questioned the US version of events leading up to the bombing and called for an independent probe.
“Their description of the attack keeps changing—from collateral damage, to a tragic incident, to now attempting to pass responsibility to the Afghanistan government,” Christopher Stokes, General Director of MSF, said in a statement.
“There can be no justification for this horrible attack. With such constant discrepancies in the US and Afghan accounts of what happened, the need for a full transparent independent investigation is ever more critical.”
The US military had previously reported that its own troops were under fire and had called in the strike, which was carried out by an AC-130 gunship.