Kabul welcomes Pentagon on MSF Hospital airstrike

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghan govement on Saturday welcomed the Pentagon’s inquiry report on the US airstrike on Medicine Sans Frontiers (MSF) Hospital in northe Kunduz province.

At least 42 people, including patients and medics, were killed and many more wounded in the much-denounced airstrike on the Trauma Centre in Kunduz City on Oct. 3, 2015.

A day earlier, the Pentagon released the final investigation report on the incident, saying the attack was not a war crime, but a human errors and technological failures.

Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of the US Central Command,told joualists at a Pentagon media briefing the raid "resulted from a combination of human errors, process errors and equipment failures".

Votel said the investigation identified 16 US service -embers, whose conduct warranted consideration for appropriate administrative or disciplinary action, including a general officer.

Actions were taken against 12 of these. The actions included suspension and removal from command, letters of reprimand, formal counselling and extensive retraining, he said.

The Ashraf Ghani administration, welcoming the report, said: “The Afghan govement is happy about the comprehensive investigation into the incident and it believes in “credibility” of Pentagon report

A statement from the Presidential Palace said the Afghans had noted with satisfaction the report that said no such incidents would recur in the future. The govement was committed to standing with its inteational allies in fighting against terrorism.

mds/mud