Pentagon Disciplines 16 For Deadly Afghan Raid

 

Twenty-Two Killed In Mistaken US Airstrike On Kunduz Hospital

The Pentagon says 16 US military personnel have been disciplined over a mistaken gunship attack last year on a charity hospital in Afghanistan.

But the US military said last year's raid on the Doctors Without Borders facility, which left 42 people dead, was not a war crime because it was unintentional.

The Defence Department said the personnel responsible for the 3 October 2015 attack would receive administrative punishments but no criminal charges.

The hospital, in the northern city of Kunduz, was attacked by a US Air Force special operations AC-130 gunship.

General Joseph Votel, Commander, US Central Command, said: "The investigation determined that all members of both the ground force and the AC-130 air crew were unaware that the aircraft was firing on a medical facility throughout the engagement.

"The investigation ultimately concluded that this tragic incident was caused by a combination of human errors, compounded by process and equipment failures."

Survivors and families of the victims said on Friday they were angry no US military personnel would face criminal charges.

Zabihullah Neyazi, a nurse who was maimed in the attack, told the Associated Press the incident was "not forgivable".

Doctors Without Borders called the attack "relentless and brutal" and demanded an international investigation, but none has been forthcoming.

The US military said it had meant to strike a Taliban command centre in a different building.

The attack was unleashed as Afghan forces fought to retake Kunduz from the Taliban.

Afghan officials claimed the hospital had been occupied by the Taliban, though no evidence has emerged to support that claim.

President Barack Obama apologised for what was one of the deadliest assaults on civilians in the 15-year war.

The US command in Kabul said in February it has expressed condolences and offered payment to more than 140 families and individuals affected by the raid.