USA troops involved in MSF hospital bombing suspended

And the aircrew from the AC-130 didn’t realize they were hitting the wrong target.

The gunship, believing it was under attack from a surface-to-air missile, withdrew to an 8-mile orbit around the target in Kunduz – far enough to reduce the accuracy of its targeting methods.

The strike began at 2.08am local time, Campbell said, and at 2.20am MSF phoned the U.S. military to report they were under attack.

Calling the strike a “tragic mistake”, the top USA and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation commander in Afghanistan, General John F. Campbell, said those responsible would be punished. The airstrike was over by that time, according to Campbell.

“The frightening catalog of errors outlined today illustrates gross negligence on the part of USA forces and violations of the rules of war”, said Christopher Stokes, the organization’s general director.

At least 30 people were killed in the attack including 10 known patients and 13 known staff.

The general said during Wednesday’s press conference that individuals involved in the attack had been suspended pending “standard military justice”, but refused to give details. “This U.S. investigation did not ignore any facts or evidence, admits mistakes that were made, and will enable the authorities to learn from the mistakes and hold people accountable where appropriate”. An investigation by the USA military has found that the gunship launched without being briefed on “crucial mission materials, including no-strike info that would have determined the coordinates of the hospital”, Campbell said. Doctors Without Borders has said they likely would rise to that level. “We are committed to ensuring that this does not happen again”. Campbell and other officials would not say how many people had been removed from their jobs nor whether anyone higher in the chain of command would be subject to discipline. He could also decide to take no action.

Doctors Without Borders, known in French as Médecins Sans Frontières, reiterated its call for an independent inquiry into the incident. Gen. Wilson Shoffner told reporters the bombing was the result of several human and technical failures.

The U.S. forces then looked for a target that was visually similar to the one they had originally sought – the former National Directorate of Security headquarters in Kunduz, which they believed was occupied by insurgents. Kunduz had fallen under Taliban control just days before the United States air strike.

That building had been the headquarters of the Afghan intelligence service NDS.

The investigation found that gun ship’s crew had to rely on descriptions of the location relayed by troops on the ground, a mix of American and Afghan Special Forces, as the aircraft’s instruments were malfunctioning.

On Oct. 3, a special operations AC-130 gunship fired on the hospital facility for 29 minutes, according to the Pentagon.

U.S. president Barack Obama apologised to MSF last month for the attack and the USA has offered to pay “condolence payments” to the families of the victims.