Nine medical staff killed in Afghanistan air strike

Doctors Without Borders says at least nine of its staff have been killed in an overnight bombing of a hospital in the embattled Afghan city of Kunduz. Another 37 people were wounded in the attack, including 19 MSF staff, the medical charity organisation told Al Jazeera. NATO said on Friday that a US air strike “may have” hit the hospital, which is run by the medical charity, adding that the attack might have resulted in collateral damage. An MSF spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the death toll was likely to rise, as the “fluid situation at the clinic hampered information gathering.” “The bombing struck the dormitories of the hospital, which explains why we – so far – have only seen deaths among our staff and not among patients,” MSF spokesperson Dalila Mahdawi said. The MSF hospital is seen as a key medical lifeline in the region, which has been running “beyond capacity” in recent days of fighting, which saw the Taliban seize control of the provincial capital for several days. “At 2.10 am (20.40 GMT) local time … the MSF trauma centre in Kunduz was hit several times during sustained bombing and was very badly damaged,” MSF said in a statement on Friday. At the time of the bombing, 105 patients and their caretakers and more than 80 MSF international and national staff were present in the hospital, the charity said. NATO said in a statement that US forces conducted an air strike in Kunduz at 2.15am local time “against individuals threatening the force”. “The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility. This incident is under investigation,” the statement said. MSF said it gave the coordinates of the hospital to Afghan and US forces several times to avoid being caught in crossfire.