Pentagon says Afghans ask for airstrikes in Kunduz that kills 22 civilians

The Pentagon said Monday Afghan forces had asked for U.S. airstrikes which may have killed 22 civilians over the weekend in Kunduz, Afghanistan, amid outcry for an independent investigation into the incident.

"We have now learned that on Oct. 3, Afghan forces advised that they were taking fire from enemy positions and asked for air support from U.S. forces," said John Campbell, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, at a Pentagon briefing, adding that initial reports of U.S. forces in Afghanistan asking for air support were incorrect.

"An air strike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat, and several civilians were accidentally struck," said Campbell, who was almost acknowledging publicly that the U.S. military was responsible for the deadly strike which killed 22 people, including 12 medical staff, in an Afghan hospital run by the aid agency Doctors Without Borders.

Shortly after the Pentagon remarks, the medical agency called for an independent investigation into the incident despite pledges from the White House and the Pentagon to conduct transparent investigations.

"Their (U.S.) description of the attack keeps changing - from collateral damage, to a tragic incident, to now attempting to pass responsibility to the Afghanistan government," said General Director Christopher Stokes of the aid agency in a statement. "With such constant discrepancies in the U.S. and Afghan accounts of what happened, the need for a full transparent independent investigation is ever more critical." Endit