Gen. Campbell: U.S. airstrike on Kunduz hospital caused by 'human errors'

By , Charles Hoskinson

Published December 20, 2015

The U.S. airstrike last month that destroyed a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in Kunduz occurred because troops mistook it for a government compound taken over by the Taliban, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan said Wednesday, citing the results of an investigation into the incident.

"This was a tragic but avoidable accident caused primarily by human error," Gen. John Campbell told reporters.

He said he would refer some of the findings to the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, raising the possibility of disciplinary action, including possible court-martials.

"The medical facility was misidentified as a target by U.S. forces who believed they were striking a different target several hundred meters away," Campbell said, calling that a result of "multiple errors."