U.S. reportedly relied on resentful Afghan commanders in Kunduz hospital bombing

The U.S. is still investigating what went wrong before an AC-130 gunship opened fire on a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital last month, killing at least 30 people, but right after the airstrikes, Afghan national security adviser Hanif Atmar took full responsibility for the attack because "we are without doubt, 100 percent convinced the place was occupied by Taliban," according to notes from a European diplomat reviewed by The Associated Press. There is no evidence to back up that claim, and plenty — including eyewitnesses — that suggest it is not true.

The U.S. 3rd Special Forces Group called in the airstrike, but at the time they were under attack by Taliban forces at the Kunduz provincial governor's compound half a mile from the hospital, and therefore had no firsthand evidence of Taliban gunmen at the MSF facility, a former intelligence official tells AP, citing documents. In fact, AP reports, "there are mounting indications the U.S. military relied heavily on Afghan allies who resented the internationally run Doctors Without Borders hospital, which treated Afghan security forces and Taliban alike but says it refused to admit armed men."

The 3rd Group knew the hospital was treating patients, according to a daily log kept by a senior officer — which should have prevented the airstrike — but also believed that the Taliban was using the facility as a command center, AP reports. The log doesn't explain why the 3rd Group believed the hospital had been taken over by the Taliban, and unit members told Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) they didn't know the target was a working hospital until after the attack. The unidentified former intelligence official said that the Afghan special forces had insisted it was a Taliban control center and urged it be destroyed.

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"It's not clear exactly what the 3rd Group commander who directed the strike knew about the hospital, and why he made the decision to attack," AP says. "Nor is it known who in the chain of command reviewed and approved the decision, or what those people knew." Read more at The Associated Press.