Airstrike Hits Hospital in Afghanistan; at Least 19 Killed

At least 19 people were killed when a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in Kunduz was badly damaged early Saturday after being hit by what appears to have been an American airstrike, sparking international outrage.

The United States military confirmed an airstrike at 2:15 a.m., saying it had been targeting individuals “who were threatening the force” and that “there may have been collateral damage to a nearby medical facility."

The airstrike Saturday set off fires that were still burning hours later, and a nurse who survived described seeing colleagues so badly burned that they had died. At least 12 hospital staff members and seven patients, including three children, were killed in the strike.

“A few are still missing, they might have been buried in the rubble,” he said, declining to give his name because employees of Doctors Without Borders are not allowed to speak to reporters without authorization.

President Ashraf Ghani’s office released a statement Saturday evening saying that Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of American forces in Afghanistan, had apologized for the strike. However, General Campbell said in a statement that he was “aware of an incident that occurred at a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz” but stopped short of taking responsibility, saying that the airstrike “was conducted against insurgents who were directly firing upon U.S. service members advising and assisting Afghan Security Forces.”

Airstrikes resulting in civilian casualties have caused tensions verging on hostility between the Afghan government and the United States for years. The former president, Hamid Karzai, was often in the uncomfortable position of explaining to his countrymen why Afghanistan’s biggest ally was killing innocent Afghans.

The strike came as the United States, for the first time since it began withdrawing most of its soldiers from Afghanistan, has begun to play an increasingly active role in the fight there. It is trying to support Afghan troops overwhelmed by the Taliban in Kunduz Province.


Eryn Sanclemente


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