White House: bombing of hospital ‘collateral damage’, not a war crime

The White House has said that the US airstrike against a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, was not a “war crime.”

The United States carried out the air strike on the hospital in the northern city of Kunduz on Saturday, which resulted in the deaths of 22 civilians.

Since the deadly strike, US officials have offered contradictory statements about how a US aircraft ended up bombing the hospital.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, in response to a question on whether the incident was a “war crime,” said, “Well, I wouldn’t use a label like that because that is under investigation.”

“The events in Afghanistan are a profound tragedy. We’re talking about doctors who have left the safety and comfort of their homes, traveled to a remote region of the world that everybody knows is dangerous and they’re risking their lives,” Earnest continued. “The fact that some of those individuals lost their lives is a profound tragedy.”