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| U.S. General Says Afghans Requested Airstrike That Hit Kunduz Hospital | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| KABUL, Afghanistan — The American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John F. Campbell, on Monday responded publicly to the mounting criticism over the American airstrike that destroyed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in the city of Kunduz, claiming that Afghan forces had requested the strike while under fire and conceding that the military’s earlier assertion that American forces had been in danger was wrong. | |
| But General Campbell’s comments, in a sudden and brief news conference at the Pentagon, did not clarify the military’s initial claims that the strike, which killed 22 people, had been an accident to begin with. Doctors Without Borders has repeatedly said that there had been no fighting around the hospital, and that the building was hit over and over by airstrikes over a long period of time on Saturday morning. | |
| In the news conference, General Campbell said that Afghan forces had come under fire near the hospital and then called for help. “An airstrike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat and several civilians were accidentally struck. This is different from the initial reports which indicated that U.S. forces were threatened and that the airstrike was called on their behalf,” he said. | |
| Doctors Without Borders, which said Sunday that it was pulling its operation out of Kunduz, has called for an independent investigation of the strike. | |
| In Kunduz on Monday, Afghan security forces reported significant progress in trying to retake the city from Taliban fighters who conquered it in a matter of hours last Monday. | |
| Security officials and residents said that the black, red and green Afghan flag was again flying over the governor’s house in Kunduz for the first time in a week, and that Afghan forces appeared to have succeeded in clearing the Taliban from some neighborhoods, according to Afghan security officials and residents. | |
| Hungry and thirsty residents of Kunduz began to emerge from their homes in the areas where the security forces had taken control. In some neighborhoods, people walked around taking stock of the damage from the Taliban’s weeklong occupation. | Hungry and thirsty residents of Kunduz began to emerge from their homes in the areas where the security forces had taken control. In some neighborhoods, people walked around taking stock of the damage from the Taliban’s weeklong occupation. |
| “The Afghan National Security Forces have managed to position themselves in different parts of the Kunduz City,” said Saeed Sarwar Hussaini, a spokesman for the Kunduz police. | “The Afghan National Security Forces have managed to position themselves in different parts of the Kunduz City,” said Saeed Sarwar Hussaini, a spokesman for the Kunduz police. |
| “The city is in the control of the Afghan government,” he said. “People have resumed coming out of their homes and a number of grocery shops have also reopened.” | “The city is in the control of the Afghan government,” he said. “People have resumed coming out of their homes and a number of grocery shops have also reopened.” |
| He said that the Taliban’s front line had vanished but added that the government could not “guarantee 100 percent that the enemy threat is eliminated.” | He said that the Taliban’s front line had vanished but added that the government could not “guarantee 100 percent that the enemy threat is eliminated.” |
| President Ashraf Ghani appointed an acting governor in Kunduz, Hamidullah Danishy, on Monday, who was on hand when the Afghan flag was raised over the governor’s house. However, the Afghan forces have hoisted their flag at central points in the city on at least two previous occasions during the past week only to be pushed back hours later. While this appeared to be a more significant incursion, residents said they were not sure it would last. | President Ashraf Ghani appointed an acting governor in Kunduz, Hamidullah Danishy, on Monday, who was on hand when the Afghan flag was raised over the governor’s house. However, the Afghan forces have hoisted their flag at central points in the city on at least two previous occasions during the past week only to be pushed back hours later. While this appeared to be a more significant incursion, residents said they were not sure it would last. |
| A half-dozen residents reached by phone described a city only partly in government control, with the Taliban continuing to fight. One resident said his relatives were looking out their front door to see which side’s flag was flying over Cinema Square, near the city’s center. | A half-dozen residents reached by phone described a city only partly in government control, with the Taliban continuing to fight. One resident said his relatives were looking out their front door to see which side’s flag was flying over Cinema Square, near the city’s center. |
| “The Afghan national security forces have made some advances in the city, although there is heavy fighting still,” said Faraidon, 35, who, like many Afghans uses only one name. He fled the city but had to leave relatives behind. | “The Afghan national security forces have made some advances in the city, although there is heavy fighting still,” said Faraidon, 35, who, like many Afghans uses only one name. He fled the city but had to leave relatives behind. |
| “My relatives told me that at Cinema Square, where they live, they can see neither Taliban nor Afghan forces,” he said. “However, because they can see the Afghan flag over the square, they think the government must control the territory.” | “My relatives told me that at Cinema Square, where they live, they can see neither Taliban nor Afghan forces,” he said. “However, because they can see the Afghan flag over the square, they think the government must control the territory.” |
| “People living in Kunduz are still fearful and waiting to see if the endless struggle will really end and they can go back to their normal life,” he said. | “People living in Kunduz are still fearful and waiting to see if the endless struggle will really end and they can go back to their normal life,” he said. |