New US commander apologizes to Afghans for hospital bombing

The new commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan traveled to Kunduz on Tuesday to personally apologize for last year’s U.S. bombing of a hospital that killed 42 people, according to multiple reports.

Gen. John Nicholson, who took command this month, traveled with his wife and the Afghan ministers of defense and the interior to meet with local officials and the families of victims of the attack.

{mosads}“As commander, I wanted to come to Kunduz personally and stand before the families and the people of Kunduz to deeply apologize for the events which destroyed the hospital and caused the deaths of staff, patients and family members,” Gen. John Nicholson said, according to The New York Times. “I grieve with you for your loss and suffering, and humbly and respectfully ask for your forgiveness.”

Nicholson’s apology comes days after reports surfaced that at least a dozen U.S. military personnel have been administratively punished for the bombing.

The Pentagon is expected to release a report on the bombing soon.

On Oct. 3, U.S. forces carried out an airstrike that hit a Doctors Without Borders hospital in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz. A preliminary investigation found the bombing was primarily the result of human error, the Pentagon said in November.

The airstrike was intended for a government building believed to be controlled by the Taliban, Gen. John Campbell, then-commander in Afghanistan, has said. But the electronic systems on the aircraft malfunctioned, and the crew relied on a description of the target, which the hospital building “roughly matched,” Campbell said.

President Obama previously personally apologized for the bombing to Doctor’s Without Borders’ international president, Joanne Liu. 

Doctors Without Borders has repeatedly called for an independent investigation into the bombing by the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission, but the United States and Afghanistan have not consented to a commission investigation.