US confirms gate forced open at bombed Afghan hospital
October 19, 2015 23:48
US and Afghan troops drove a military vehicle through a locked gate at a Doctors Without Borders hospital, 12 days after the facility was hit in a
deadly air strike, the Pentagon acknowledged today.
US and Afghan forces went to the hospital in Kunduz on October 15 as part of ongoing probes into the October 3 strike that killed at least 24 people, some of whom burned to death in their beds.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the troops were going to inspect damage and to determine if the structure could be rebuilt.
The convoy did not think any staff from Doctors Without Borders, known by its French abbreviation MSF, was present. Because the surrounding area had seen recent combat, the team decided not to stop.
"They had broken through that gate in the interests of safety and in the belief that MSF personnel were not on site," Davis said.
"Unbeknownst to our team there, there were MSF personnel and they were understandably not happy that we had broken that."
Davis said the troops were in an "Afghan, tracked vehicle" -- but not a tank -- and that coalition forces would fix the gate this week.
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