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| Afghanistan |
| Soldier Claims Insurgents Were Hiding in Hospital At Time Of Air Strike |
| 2015-10-08 |
| [Tolo News] An Afghan National Army (ANA) commando claimed on Wednesday that Taliban members were possibly present at the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital when the facility was bombed last week. The Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital was the main medical facility that the Taliban used for its maimed, he said. "Taliban were being treated in this hospital ... because it was their main center (in Kunduz) for their healthcare services. I think they had come in large numbers and that the aircraft attacked them," he told TOLOnews correspondent Wali Arian in Kunduz. In addition, he said the Taliban had used the hospital to launch attacks on security forces. Another ANA officer said the Taliban had seized the hospital for their own injured fighters before it was bombed. "When the hospital was seized by the enemy (Taliban) they took the doctors hostage and were treating their injured fighters in the hospital," he said. The strike came in the early hours of Saturday morning killing 22 people, including 12 MSF staff members. However MSF officials called the incident a war crime and have blamed the United States for the attack. Also, they rejected as baseless claims that holy warriors were hiding in the facility. "So claiming that they were targeting [Taliban] fighters is not proven by the facts so this claim is ridiculous ... only patients inside the building were - as I said - patients and staff and they are the only maimed and casualties of this attack," said MSF President Meinie Nicolai. This comes after the United States' commander of international forces in Afghanistan Gen. John Campbell said on Tuesday the Campbell said U.S. forces had responded to requests from Afghan forces and provided close air support as they engaged in a fight with Talibs in the historic provincial capital. "To be clear, the decision to provide aerial fires was a U.S. decision made within the U.S. chain of command," Campbell said in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee. "A hospital was mistakenly struck. We would never intentionally target a protected medical facility." Campbell's comments on Tuesday were the most direct acknowledgement yet by the U.S. government that the strike on the hospital was carried out by U.S. forces. But in a statement on Monday, Campbell said only that U.S. forces had responded to requests for support from Afghan forces. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 That's their MO to hide among the helpless and innocent, then raise hell when discovered, hopefully we wont't look there anymore. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2015-10-08 16:48 |
| #1 Mixed in with the fluffy ducks and baby bunnies? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2015-10-08 12:50 |