The number of people killed in a U.S. airstrike on a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in Afghanistan has risen to 42, the international humanitarian group announced on Saturday.
The October 3 incident happened when U.S. forces inadvertently aimed at the hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Gen. John Campbell, the top NATO and U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said last month.
U.S. forces meant to aim at a nearby site in which insurgents were thought to be taking shelter, according to Campbell. Last month he said that 30 people were killed in the attack.
“The proximate cause of this tragedy was the direct result of avoidable human error, compounded by process and equipment failures,” Campbell said.
Doctors Without Borders, known also by its French name, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), says more than 100 patients were admitted to the hospital when it was struck.
MSF has called for an independent investigation.
“The U.S. version of events presented today (November 25) leaves MSF with more questions than answers,” Christopher Stokes, the organization’s general director, said in a written statement. “It is shocking that an attack can be carried out when U.S. forces have neither eyes on a target nor access to a no-strike list, and have malfunctioning communications systems.”