THE accidental American air strike on a hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an aid group, in Kunduz is difficult to comprehend. The strike killed at least 19 people. The exact position of the hospital, which had been working overtime since Monday when Taliban forces briefly took control of the city in northern Afghanistan, had been communicated to all the belligerents—the Taliban, Afghan security forces and the 13,200-strong American-led NATO “train, advise and assist” mission that remains in the country.
Although details remain sketchy, it looks as if Afghan special forces, accompanied by NATO trainers, came under fire in the small hours of Saturday morning as they continued their attempt to clear the Taliban out of Kunduz. A request for air support was met, it seems, by an AC-130 gunship, a modified Hercules transport that carries heavy cannon, missiles and small laser-guided bombs. The pilots should have known that they were operating near a hospital. A further mystery is why the attack continued for over half an hour after MSF staff frantically contacted government and NATO officials.
Inevitably, the awful accident will be seen by...Continue reading
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