US General to Investigate Bombing of Doctors Without Borders Hospital

Gen. John F. Campbell, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, has appointed a two-star general from another command to lead an independent investigation into the U.S. bombing incident of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan.

Maj. Gen. William Hickman will lead the investigation conducted by three senior officers outside of his command and supported by two brigadier generals.

“My intent is to disclose the findings of the investigation once it is complete,” Campbell said. “We will be forthright and transparent and we will hold ourselves accountable for any mistakes made.”

The latest numbers released by Doctors Without Borders indicate that at least 13 hospital workers and 10 patients were killed after an AC-130 gunship bombed the trauma center in Kunduz days after it was overrun by the Taliban.

According to Campbell, a civilian casualty assessment “determined that the reports of civilian casualties were credible.”

However, Doctors Without Borders is still analyzing the aftermath of the incident which it has publically declared a war crime.

“Efforts are ongoing to determine the identities of seven other unrecognizable bodies found in the wreck of the hospital, all of whom have now been buried,” the organization said in a statement  released Saturday.