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Afghan president expresses sorrow over deaths of medical staff, civilians after hospital attack

Xinhua, October 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Saturday expressed deep sorrow over the killing and wounding of civilians and medical staffs following an airstrike that hit a hospital run by a medical aid group in northern Kunduz province.

At early hours of Saturday, the air raid reportedly launched by U.S. forces in Afghanistan struck the Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF hospital in Kunduz city, capital of northern Kunduz province, killing 19 and injuring 37 others.

"The commander of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission, General John Campbell in a telephone call to President Ghani, provided explanations about the incident and offered condolences to those affected. Both the President and General Campbell agreed to launch a joint and thorough investigation," said a statement issued by presidential palace.

"Twelve staff members and at least seven patients, including three children, were killed; 37 people were injured including 19 staff members," MSF said in a statement.

The aid group said that the number of causualties may go up.

The Afghan president said that "the Afghan Security and Defense Forces and our allies in the Resolute Support Mission are obliged to ensure safety of civilians and exercise full precision in military operations."

In a surprise attack, Taliban militants captured major parts of Kunduz city 250 km north of Kabul on Monday and government forces started counter-offensive on Thursday, and so far, according to Kunduz police, hundreds of Taliban militants have been killed.

At least 60 civilians have been killed and nearly 500 civilians wounded since the clashes broke out, according to officials. Endi