Defense officials had warned in recent days that the assessment was unlikely to resolve questions as to what happened during the October 3 bombing of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, which killed at least 22.
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It said 13 MSF staff members were confirmed dead and one other presumed dead, while 10 patients were confirmed dead and another two presumed dead.
Officials are still trying to confirm the identities of seven unrecognizable bodies found in the rubble of the hospital, the organization said in a statement Saturday. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, spokesman for the Resolute Support Mission, said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation examination of civilian casualties is being conducted independently of the US national investigation.
MSF has been harshly critical of the attack, saying it is a presumptive war crime and requires a credible, independent investigation.
“We are nearly the only organization providing treatment for tuberculosis in prisons, insulin for diabetic patients, and hemodialysis products to treat kidney failure”, said Janssens. Those three officials will continue the investigation begun by Brig. Shoffner said the team is continuing with its casualty investigation.
US forces have acknowledged that they mistakenly bombed the hospital; the death toll stands at 23 people killed.
Liu added that MSF wants the global Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission to conduct an investigation into the Kunduz attack.
The United States says the hospital was hit by mistake but has accepted responsibility and has launched a wider investigation headed by a US general and two brigadier generals, which is expected later.
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At a Pentagon news conference on Friday Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he had spoken with General Campbell about the ongoing investigations. “We will be forthright and transparent and we will hold ourselves accountable for any mistakes made”. “While we desire the investigation to be timely, what’s most important is that it be done thoroughly and correctly”. “We express our deepest condolences to the families of those affected by this incident”, he said. “We as American people should be asking if this is how we want this tool, which is an extension of us, is this how we want this tool used”.
