US knew it was bombing hospital in Kunduz, but believed it was under Taliban control: AP
A new report reveals US troops were aware that they were bombing a functional hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz in early October but thought it was being operated by the Taliban forces.
According to a report by the Associated Press on Monday, the Army Green Berets who requested the October 3 deadly air strike on the hospital, run by the Doctors Without Borders, in the northern city of Kunduz were aware that they were targeting was a functioning hospital
A day before the American AC-130 gunship struck the hospital, a senior officer in the Green Beret unit wrote in a report that US forces had discussed the hospital with the country director of the medical charity group, presumably in Kabul, according to two people who have seen the document.
As declared by Tim Shenk, a spokesman for the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders, days before the attack “an official in Washington” asked Doctors Without Borders "whether our hospital had a large group of Taliban fighters in it," and "We replied that this was not the case. We also stated that we were very clear with both sides to the conflict about the need to respect medical structures."
All being said, the evidence adds to the growing possibility that US forces could have a violated of the international rules of war by destroying the hospital.
On October 6, US President Barack Obama apologized for the incident, that left 30 people dead, a day after US military commander General John Campbell in Afghanistan acknowledged the bombing.
"To be clear, the decision to provide aerial flyers was a US decision made within the US chain of command. A hospital was mistakenly struck. We would never intentionally target a protected medical facility." Campbell said.
Even if the US believed the Taliban were operating from the hospital, the presence of wounded patients inside would have made an air attack on it problematic under standard American rules of engagement and the international law of war.
The deadly strike, which lasted for more than an hour, led to the closure of the MSF-run trauma clinic, depriving tens of thousands of Afghans of health care.
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