Pentagon disciplines about 16 in hospital strike in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has disciplined about 16 military personnel, including a general officer, for their role in last year's mistaken airstrike on a hospital in Afghanistan that killed 42 people, a senior defense official said Thursday.

The punishments are considered administrative, said the official, who asked not to be named since the Pentagon has not formally announced the action. The action does not include courts-martial, which are for more serious criminal charges, the official said.

A letter of reprimand or forced reassignment can effectively end a military career by making it difficult to get a promotion.

Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the war in Afghanistan, is expected to announce the action Friday at a Pentagon briefing.

A military investigation into the Oct. 3 incident prompted a range of disciplinary actions. One officer was suspended from command, six were sent to counseling, seven were issued letters of reprimand, and two were ordered to retraining courses, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the results of the investigation.

The airstrike occurred during an intense battle in Kunduz, after Taliban militants had seized the city in northern Afghanistan last fall.

U.S. aircraft and Special Forces soldiers supported the Afghan troops during days of intense fighting before the militants were expelled.

During the battle in October, an Air Force AC-130 gunship struck the hospital, which was operated by Doctors Without Borders, an international aid organization.

A military report determined that the U.S. forces involved in the airstrike mistook the hospital for another compound that was serving as a Taliban headquarters.

“This was a tragic, but avoidable accident caused primarily by human error,” Gen. John Campbell, who commanded coalition forces in Afghanistan at the time, said in a briefing last year.

“The U.S. forces directly involved in this incident did not know the targeted compound was the (Doctors Without Borders) trauma center,” Campbell said.

Doctors Without Borders and other international organizations have pressed for an independent investigation into the attack.

Amnesty International, a human rights organization, on Thursday renewed its call for an international probe into the attack.