Kunduz hospital bombing 'not a war crime': Pentagon

The tragic US military attack on a 'Doctors Without Borders' hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz last October was a mistake, a combination of human errors compounded by process and equipment failures, the Pentagon said on Friday.

Following a details investigation, the Pentagon has not only taken action against more than a dozen of its officials but also have decided to make condolence payments worth $5.7 million to 170 individuals and families victims of tragic attack on a Kunduz.

"US Forces-Afghanistan leaders have offered their sympathies and provided condolence payments to more than 170 individuals and families affected by this tragedy. These modest payments are not designed to compensate the victims or place a value on their lives, but are a gesture of sympathy," General Joseph L Votel, Commander of the US Central Command told media persons at a news conference in Washington.

"The Department of Defense has approved $5.7 million in funds to construct a comparable structure in Kunduz that is suitable for use as a medical facility," Votel said as he revealed details of a months long investigation into the tragic incident that killed 62 people on October 3, 2015.

Votel said the investigation concluded that the personnel involved did not know they were striking a medical facility. The intended target was an insurgent-controlled site which was approximately 400 meters from the Doctors Without Borders Trauma Center, he said.

The investigation found that an AC-130 gunship air crew in support of a US Special Forces element that was supporting an Afghan partner ground force misidentified and struck the Doctors Without Borders hospital, he added.

Votel said the investigation determined that all members of both the ground force and the AC-130 air crew were unaware that the aircraft was firing on a medical facility throughout the engagement.

The investigation ultimately concluded that the tragic incident was caused by a combination of human errors, compounded by process and equipment failures.

Leading up to this incident, US Special Operations forces and their Afghan partners had been engaged in intense fighting for several consecutive days and nights in Kunduz, and had repelled heavy and sustained enemy attacks, he noted.

The ground force was fatigued from days of fighting, still engaged with an aggressive enemy, and running low on supplies, the general said. Votel said the investigation identified 16 US service members whose conduct warranted consideration for appropriate administrative or disciplinary action including a general officer.

Actions were taken against 12 of these.

IMAGE: US Army General Joseph Votel, commander, US Central Command, briefs the media at the Pentagon in Washington. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters