Is the U.S. fully responsible for Kunduz hospital airstrike?

'If errors were committed, we'll acknowledge them'

On Monday, the American commander of international forces in Afghanistan announced Afghan forces asked for U.S. air support as they fought the Taliban in Kunduz prior to an air strike that killed civilians.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - U.S. Army General John Campbell claimed U.S. forces were not under direct fire and the air strike was not initiated on their behalf.

"We have now learned that on October 3 Afghan forces advised that they were taking fire from enemy positions and asked for air support from U.S. forces," Campbell told reporters. "An air strike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat, and several civilians were accidentally struck."

Twenty-two people were killed in an Afghan hospital run by Medecins Sans Fronieres (MSF), an aid group, on Saturday. 

Following the deaths, MSF called for an independent investigation. On Monday the White House announced its confidence in ongoing investigations by the U.S. military, NATO and Afghan security, saying the full account surrounding the strike would be produced.

MSF General Director Christopher Stokes released a statement Monday claiming Campbell's comments were an attempt to pass responsibility.

"The reality is the U.S. dropped those bombs. The U.S. hit a huge hospital full of wounded patients and MSF staff. The U.S. military remains responsible for the targets it hits, even though it is part of a coalition. There can be no justification for this horrible attack."

Campbell said U.S. Army Brigadier General Richard Kim, the senior investigator on the incident, is currently in Kunduz, while the White House said NATO is conducting a separate investigation and the U.S. military and Afghan security are conducting a third.

"If errors were committed, we'll acknowledge them. We'll hold those responsible accountable, and we'll take steps to ensure mistakes are not repeated," Campbell said.

"If there's other investigations out there that need to go on, I'll make sure that we coordinate those as well," Campbell added.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said U.S. President Barack Obama is confident the three investigations will conclude with a "full accounting."

Earnest said, "His expectation is that details won't be ...whitewashed...so that if it's necessary to take steps to prevent something like this from ever happening again, that those reforms are implemented promptly and effectively."

Campbell did not comment on whether the United States paused the air strikes, but he did say they had not suspended "train, advise, and assist" support from the U.S. to Afghans. He believes the preliminary report will be available "very shortly, in the next couple of days."

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