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Air strike kills MSF medical staff in Afghanistan

International Desk |
Update: 2015-10-03 03:22:00
Air strike kills MSF medical staff in Afghanistan Photo Courtesy: Al Jazeera

DHAKA: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says three of its staff were killed in an overnight bombing of a hospital in the embattled Afghan city of Kunduz.

NATO said a US air strike ‘may have’ hit the hospital, which is run by the medical charity, adding that the attack may have resulted in collateral damage.

The MSF hospital is seen as a key medical lifeline in the region, which has been running ‘beyond capacity’ in recent days of fighting which saw the Taliban seize control of the provincial capital for several days.

‘At 2:10 am (20:40 GMT) local time... the MSF trauma centre in Kunduz was hit several times during sustained bombing and was very badly damaged,’ MSF said in a statement, reports Al Jazeera.

At the time of the bombing, 105 patients and their caretakers and more than 80 MSF international and national staff were present in the hospital, the charity said.

NATO said in a statement that US forces conducted an air strike in Kunduz at 2:15am (local time) ‘... against individuals threatening the force’.

‘The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility. This incident is under investigation,’ the statement said.

BDST: 1325 HRS, OCT 03, 2015
RR

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