KABUL — The crew of an American gunship that attacked a hospital in Kunduz last month, killing 30, misidentified the target, had suffered a loss of electronic communications, had not been carrying a “no-strike” list although one existed, and was beset by “fatigue and a high operational tempo,” a U.S. military investigation has concluded.
“This was a tragic and avoidable accident caused primarily by human error,” Gen. John Campbell, the top U.S. commander for Afghanistan, said at a news conference in Kabul on Wednesday. That human error, he said, was “compounded by systems and procedural failures.”
Several American personnel, most likely pilots and Special Operations forces who made the decision that led to one of the deadliest incidents of civilian casualties of the war, have been suspended and could face further disciplinary action.
The location of the Doctors Without Borders hospital was widely known in Kunduz. The aircrew, Campbell said, confused it with the headquarters of the Afghan intelligence service several hundred yards away, which the Taliban reportedly seized when it briefly took control of the city and which was the intended target.
But faulty planning and procedures to approve airstrikes, as well as the absence of a single system to vet proposed targets against a no-strike list, compounded the mistake, he said.
“The investigation found that some of the U.S. individuals involved did not follow the rules of engagement,” said Gen. Wilson Shoffner, the top U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan.
Investigators also concluded that those who requested the airstrike, as well as those who executed it, did not verify that a legitimate military target was being hit, Campbell said. That raises a serious question about the extent to which the U.S. military can trust its Afghan partners: The coordinates and call for airstrikes started with the Afghans, Campbell and Shoffner said.
And other questions remain. Just before the attack on the hospital, a U.S. airstrike pummeled an empty warehouse across the street from the Afghan intelligence headquarters. How U.S. personnel could have confused its location only a few hours later is not clear, nor is it clear why the gunship repeatedly bombed the hospital when there was no return fire.
“The U.S. version of events presented today leaves MSF with more questions than answers,” said Christopher Strokes, the general director of the medical aid agency, also known by its French acronym MSF, for Médecins Sans Frontières. “The frightening catalogue of errors outlined today illustrates gross negligence on the part of U.S. forces and violations of the rules of war. The destruction of a protected facility without verifying the target — in this case a functioning hospital full of medical staff and patients — cannot only be dismissed as individual human error or breaches of the U.S. rules of engagement.”
The group reiterated its call for an independent investigation.
