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Saturday, October 3, 2015

Several Doctors Without Borders Staffers Killed In Possible U.S. Airstrike On Kunduz

Nine local staffers for Doctors Without Borders were killed and 30 were missing after an explosion near their hospital in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz that may have been caused by a U.S. airstrike on Saturday Oct 03,2015

When the aerial attack occurred, 105 patients and their caretakers were in the hospital. More than 80 MSF international and national staff were present.

Bombing continued for more than 30 minutes after the aid group notified military officials it was under attack

In a statement, the international charity said the "sustained bombing" took place at 2:10 a.m. (2140 GMT). Afghan forces backed by U.S. airstrikes have been fighting to dislodge Taliban insurgents who overran Kunduz on Monday.

U.S. forces in Afghanistan said they conducted an airstrike on Kunduz at 2:15 a.m. The spokesman, U.S. Army Col. Brian Tribus, said the strike "may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility" and that the incident was under investigation. Tribus said it was the 12th U.S. airstrike "in the Kunduz vicinity" since Tuesday

Doctors Without Borders said its trauma center "was hit several times during sustained bombing and was very badly damaged." At the time of the bombing, the hospital had 105 patients and their caretakers, and more than 80 international and Afghan staff, it said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said 10 to 15 "terrorists" had been hiding in the hospital at the time of the strike. "All of the terrorists were killed but we also lost doctors," he told a press conference. He said 80 staff at the hospital, including 15 foreigners, had been taken to safety.

Note
The Taliban captured Kunduz city earlier this week in the group's biggest victory in 15 years. It was a major setback for Afghan forces.
Afghanistan said it reclaimed most of the city Thursday Sep 30,2015 in a big operation backed by U.S. airstrikes.

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