U.S. official admits Kunduz hospital airstrike was a 'mistake'

General John Campbell addresses airstrikes on a hospital in Kunduz.

(Image credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

published 6 October 2015

American commander in Afghanistan Gen. John F. Campbell admitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday that the airstrike targeting a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan was the result of "a U.S. decision made within the U.S. chain of command."

"A hospital was mistakenly struck," Campbell said. "We would never intentionally target a protected medical facility." The attack came as Afghan forces were attempting to retake the northern city of Kunduz from the Taliban.

Doctors Without Borders has said the strike, which killed 19 people, "may amount to a war crime," The New York Times reports.