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 At least 37 people were wounded and many are still missing after
the bombing, which will renew concerns over the use of U.S. air
power in the conflict in America's longest war. Former President
Hamid Karzai fell out with his backers in Washington over the number
of civilians killed by bombs.
U.S. forces launched an air strike at 2.15 a.m. (2145 GMT), the
spokesman, Col. Brian Tribus, said in a statement.
"The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby
medical facility," he added. "This incident is under investigation."
At the aid group's bombed-out hospital, one wall of a building had
collapsed, scattering fragments of glass and wooden door frames, and
three rooms were ablaze, said Saad Mukhtar, director of public
health in Kunduz.
"Thick black smoke could be seen rising from some of the rooms,"
Mukhtar said after a visit to the hospital. "The fighting is still
going on, so we had to leave."
Fighting has raged around the northern provincial capital of Kunduz
as government forces backed by American air power seek to drive out
Taliban militants who seized the city six days ago in the biggest
victory of their nearly 14-year insurgency.
The U.S. military unleashed twelve air strikes on the city this
week, most on the city's outskirts. The overnight strike on the
hospital was only the second in a central area, the military said.
Despite government claims to have taken control of the area, a
bitter contest with the Taliban continues. Afghan security forces
fought their way into Kunduz three days ago, but battles continue in
many places, with Taliban hiding in people's homes.
"TRAGIC INCIDENT"
Many patients and staff remain missing after the attack which
happened when almost 200 patients and employees were in the
hospital, the only one in the region that can deal with major
injuries, said Medecins Sans Frontieres, which is based in
Switzerland.
"We are deeply shocked by the attack, the killing of our staff and
patients and the heavy toll it has inflicted on healthcare in
Kunduz," the aid group's operations director, Bart Janssens, said in
a statement.
MSF said it gave the location of the hospital to both Afghan and
U.S. sides several times in the past few months, as well as this
week, to avoid being caught in crossfire.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said there were no militant
fighters being treated at the hospital.
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MSF said it had treated almost 400 patients in the 150-bed hospital
since fighting broke out, most for gunshot wounds. So many patients
have flooded in that the hospital had to put them in offices and on
mattresses on the floor. The U.S. embassy in Kabul said in a
statement it "mourns for the individuals and families affected by
the tragic incident".
The hospital was on the frontline in the fighting. On Friday,
Taliban fighters hiding behind the walls of the hospital were firing
at government forces, said Khodaidad, a Kunduz resident who lives
near the hospital.
"I could hear sounds of heavy gunfire, explosions and airplanes
throughout the night," said Khodaidad, who has only one name. "There
were several huge explosions and it sounded like the roof was
falling on me."
EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said he
was shocked by the news of the bombing.
"I call on all parties to the conflict to respect international
humanitarian law and ensure that health care facilities and
humanitarian workers are protected," he said in a statement.
France has called for an investigation.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was "deeply
shocked" by the incident.
"This is an appalling tragedy," said Jean-Nicolas Marti, head of the
ICRC in Afghanistan. "Such attacks undermine the capacity of
humanitarian organizations to assist the Afghan people at a time
when they most urgently need it."
(Additional reporting by Kay Johnson in Kabul, Gus Trompiz in Paris
and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels; Editing by Clarence Fernandez
and Raissa Kasolowsky)
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