Two U.S. Service Members Killed in Afghanistan 21 Aug 2019</s>ISLAMABAD - Afghan authorities said Thursday that at least 30 civilians, including many children, were among those killed in pre-dawn clashes between U.S.-backed government forces and the Taliban in the northern Kunduz province.

The U.S. military confirmed two of its soldiers were also killed in the fighting, and another two were wounded.

The deadly fighting on the outskirts of the provincial capital erupted after Afghan forces with the help of American partners raided an insurgent compound.



“The service members came under fire during a train, advise and assist mission with our Afghan partners to clear a Taliban position and disrupt the group’s operations in Kunduz district,” said a U.S. statement.

FILE - A U.S. Army medics carry a wounded soldier FILE - A U.S. Army medics carry a wounded soldier in Afghanistan's Helmand province Sept. 6, 2011. Two U.S. soldiers were among those killed and two were wounded when they came under enemy fire in Kunduz province, Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Thursday. FILE - A U.S. Army medics carry a wounded soldier in Afghanistan's Helmand province Sept. 6, 2011. Two U.S. soldiers were among those killed and two were wounded when they came under enemy fire in Kunduz province, Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Thursday.

A provincial government spokesman, Mehmood Danish, said that four members of the Afghan Commando forces were killed, and “unfortunately the fighting also left at least 30 civilians dead, including women and children." Many, many more wounded, he added. He said the joint operation also inflicted heavy casualties on Taliban insurgents, killing 26.

Earlier, residents carrying the bodies of about 20 people — including children — took to the streets of Kunduz to protest the killing of civilians.

Amnesty International has demanded a prompt, thorough and impartial inquiry into the airstrike blamed for civilian casualties.

"Previous violations of international humanitarian law by U.S./NATO troops still remain uninvestigated and unpunished. This cannot be another example of inaction in the face of such loss of life," said Champa Patel, South Asia Director for the London-based human rights defender.

The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, described the loss of his troops as “heartbreaking” and offered his deepest condolences on behalf of his forces to the families and friends of the victims.

“Our wounded soldiers are receiving the best medical care possible and we are keeping them and their families in our thoughts today, as well," he said.

Despite the tragic event, the general said, U.S. forces are steadfast in their commitment to help Afghan partners defend their nation.

FILE - An Afghan National Army soldier (L) shouts FILE - An Afghan National Army soldier, left, shouts at Taliban fighters after firing a rocket toward Taliban positions, on the outskirts of Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, April 16, 2016. FILE - An Afghan National Army soldier, left, shouts at Taliban fighters after firing a rocket toward Taliban positions, on the outskirts of Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, April 16, 2016.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, says that three of its fighters were killed in the pre-dawn clashes, which erupted after the U.S. military raided an insurgent-held compound in Kunduz city.

In a statement sent to media, Mujahid gave a much higher death toll inflicted on U.S. forces and alleged that the deadly clashes prompted “occupying forces,” a reference to the U.S.-led military coalition, to conduct airstrikes on civilian areas, causing many casualties.

Afghan officials say the Taliban often uses civilian localities as shields to conduct insurgent activities.

Kunduz has been under attack from the Taliban for weeks, and the insurgents came close to capturing the city early last month before Afghan forces pushed them back with the help of U.S. air power.

The provincial capital briefly fell to the Taliban about a year ago.

Kunduz, Afghanistan Kunduz, Afghanistan Kunduz, Afghanistan

Despite the onset of Afghan winter, there has been no let-up in Taliban attacks, particularly in northern provinces.

Afghan security forces have been able to keep the insurgents from capturing any urban center only with the U.S. assistance, said the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

The U.S. government-monitoring agency in its quarterly report released earlier this week revealed that in the first eight months of 2016, Afghan forces suffered more than 5,500 deaths, while around 10,000 were wounded.

It said the Afghan government also suffered territorial loses during that period. The Taliban has stepped up battlefield attacks since August, inflicting more casualties on government forces.

According to the U.S. military assessment, Afghan forces suffered around 5,000 deaths, while 15,000 were wounded during the entire year of 2015.</s>KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Dozens of Afghan civilians were killed on Thursday in air strikes called in when U.S. and local troops came under heavy fire during an operation in the north of the country in which two American service members also died.

Afghan officials said there was heavy fighting overnight in the village of Buz Kandahari, about 5 km (3 miles) from the center of the city of Kunduz, which Afghan Taliban fighters succeeded in entering as recently as last month.

Air strikes called in to protect U.S. and Afghan special forces conducting the operation caused heavy casualties.

“Unfortunately more than 30 civilians, including women and children, were killed during the fighting. This was a horrible incident,” said Asadullah Amarkhil, the governor of Kunduz, adding that dozens had been wounded.

There were angry protests by civilians who brought the bodies of many of the dead into Kunduz, which saw major battles in early October.

“These bodies you see here are either children or women, they are not Taliban. All innocent children and women killed here - look at the bodies there,” said Gull Ahmad, pointing to the bodies of relatives who were killed in the strikes.

In a statement, the U.S. military said the troops came under attack while working with Afghan partners to clear a Taliban militant position and disrupt the group’s operations in the district around the city.

“As part of an Afghan operation, friendly forces received direct fire and air strikes were conducted to defend themselves,” said Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.

“We take all allegations of civilian casualties very seriously.”

In a statement, the Taliban said American forces were involved in a raid to capture three militant fighters when they came under heavy fire. An air strike hit the village where the fighting was taking place, killing many civilians.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said he was “deeply saddened” to learn that two U.S. service members had been killed and four injured in Afghanistan.

“Our service members were doing their part to help the Afghans secure their own country while protecting our homeland from those who would do us harm,” he said in a statement.

According to Pentagon data, 1,832 other U.S. service members have been killed in action in Afghanistan since 2001, when U.S.-backed forces toppled the Taliban regime.

KUNDUZ SECURITY IN PERIL

The violence underlines the precarious security situation around Kunduz, which Taliban fighters came close to over-running last month, a year after briefly capturing it in their biggest success of the 15-year-long war.

While the city itself was secured, the insurgents control large surrounding areas.

The U.S. military gave no details of the identity of the two personnel killed, their units or the circumstances of their deaths.

Although U.S. combat operations against the Taliban largely ended in 2014, special forces units have repeatedly engaged in fighting while assisting Afghan troops.

Masoom Hashemi, deputy police chief in Kunduz province, said police were checking if any of the dead had Taliban links.

Thousands of U.S. soldiers remain in Afghanistan as part of the Resolute Support training and assistance mission and a separate counterterrorism mission.

The deaths come a month after another U.S. service member was killed on an operation against Islamic State fighters in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

Afghan forces, fighting largely on their own since the international combat mission ended, have suffered thousands of casualties, with more than 5,500 killed in the first eight months of 2016.</s>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — NATO says 2 US service members killed, 2 wounded fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province.</s>Afghan army soldiers run for position during a firefight in Kunduz city in October 2015. Coalition military officials said Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016, that two U.S. servicemembers were killed and two others injured during an attack in Kunduz.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Two U.S. servicemembers were killed and another two wounded on Thursday fighting the Taliban in northern Kunduz province, NATO’s mission in Afghanistan said.

The troops came under fire during a train, advise and assist mission with Afghan forces to clear a Taliban position and disrupt the group’s operations in Kunduz, the coalition said in a statement.

NATO is withholding the identities of the servicemembers until their next of kin are notified.

“On behalf of all U.S. Forces Afghanistan, today’s loss is heartbreaking and we offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of our servicemembers who lost their lives today,” said Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of USFOR-A.

“Despite today’s tragic event, we are steadfast in our commitment to help our Afghan partners defend their nation,” Nicholson said.

The servicemembers were assisting Afghan commandos during a raid in the Buze Kandahari suburb of Kunduz city on Wednesday night when they came under insurgent fire, Kunduz police spokesman Hijratullah Akbari said. He said no Afghan troops were injured.

Last month, Taliban fighters briefly infiltrated into parts of Kunduz, Afghanistan’s fifth-largest city. The guerrillas occupied the entire city last year before being expelled by government forces.

Fighting has continued in Kunduz province, were about 100 NATO advisers and an undisclosed number of other troops are assisting the Afghans.

The latest deaths come two weeks after two other Americans, including Army Sgt. Douglas J. Riney, were killed in an insider attack near a NATO coalition base in Kabul. More than 2,200 U.S. military personnel have died in Afghanistan since 2001.</s>Civilians killed in airstrikes that followed 2 US deaths in Afghanistan

Afghan army soldiers run for position during a firefight in Kunduz city in October 2015. Coalition military officials said Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016, that two U.S. servicemembers were killed and two others injured during an attack in Kunduz.

KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. airstrikes launched after two American servicemembers were killed in in raid in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province claimed the lives of dozens of civilians, including women and children, officials said Thursday.

The troops came under fire during a joint mission with Afghan partners to clear a Taliban position near the provincial capital, NATO’s mission and local officials said. Four American servicemembers were also injured.

NATO would not reveal the identities of the casualties until their next of kin were notified.

Foreign forces conducted airstrikes in the area after the troops came under attack, Kunduz police chief, Qasim Jangalbagh said. He told The Associated Press that the initial target of the raid was two Taliban commanders, who were killed in the fighting along with over 60 other insurgents.

NATO forces were assisting Afghan commandos during a raid in the Buze Kandahari suburb of Kunduz city on Wednesday night when they came under insurgent fire, Kunduz police spokesman Hijratullah Akbari said.

Tribal leader Hafizullah, who like many Afghans uses just one name, said the airstrikes killed about 30 civilians, including women and children. And the Pajhwok news agency cited a provincial council member who claimed that at least 100 civilians had been killed and wounded in the overnight airstrikes.

The casualties outraged residents, who protested by carrying the corpses in Kunduz city on Thursday morning, Hafizullah said.

Taza Gul, a Kunduz resident, told Pajhwok: “I was working on my farm when the bombardment started. On coming home, I saw seven members of my family, including women and children, killed in the raids.”

Photographs posted on Twitter showed the corpses of young children allegedly killed by the airstrikes with remarks condemning the United States.

Regarding the civilian casualties, Gen. Charles Cleveland, spokesman for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said: “As part of an Afghan operation, friendly forces received direct fire and airstrikes were conducted to defend themselves. We take all allegations of civilian casualties very seriously.”

Cleveland said NATO and Afghan officials would conduct an investigation into the incident.

The office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement Thursday that the president was shocked by the news of the civilian deaths and had “directed the security and defense officials and Kunduz governor to take all necessary steps during operations to prevent civilian casualties.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said he was “deeply saddened” by the U.S. casualties. “We will honor their sacrifice by finishing our important mission in Afghanistan,” he said.

Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said that three Afghan commandos were killed in the clashes and seven others were wounded.

Fighting across Afghanistan has been particularly intense in recent months, with the Taliban apparently determined to occupy a provincial capital. The insurgents are currently threatening six provincial capitals, including Kunduz, and U.S. advisers have been working more closely with Afghan units to push the militants back, putting them at greater risk than before.

Civilians are at risk, too. The fighting claimed the lives of nearly 8,400 civilians during the first nine months or this year, according to the United Nations mission in the country.

Last month, Taliban fighters briefly infiltrated parts of Kunduz, Afghanistan’s fifth-largest city. The insurgents occupied the entire city last year before being expelled by government forces.

Fighting has continued in Kunduz province, were about 100 NATO advisers and an undisclosed number of other troops are assisting the Afghans.

The servicemembers’ deaths come two weeks after two other Americans, including Army Sgt. Douglas J. Riney, were killed in an insider attack near a NATO coalition base in Kabul. More than 2,200 U.S. military personnel have died in Afghanistan since 2001.</s>KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) — The death toll of civilians killed by NATO-led forces’ airstrikes in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz province has risen to 31 with 17 others injured, the provincial government said on Friday.

“The latest figures showed that 31 civilians lost their lives and 17 others injured during the Thursday’s military operation and subsequent air raids conducted by foreign forces on outskirts of Kunduz city,” it said in a statement.

Among the victims were several women and children, the statement said, adding that an investigation has been going on into the incident and further details will be released afterwards.

On early Thursday, Afghan security forces conducted an operation in Buzi Kandahari village, outside provincial capital the Kunduz city, 250 km north of Kabul.

The NATO-led forces were also supporting the Afghan troops during the operation against the Taliban during which the local troops has called in airstrikes that inflected casualties among the residents, according to local officials.

Two U.S. troops, three Afghan soldiers and several militants were killed by the clashes.

The NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission in a statement put on its twitter account on Thursday said, “Airstrikes were conducted in Kunduz to defend friendly forces under fire. All civilians casualty claims will be investigated.”

The Kunduz province and neighboring Baghlan and Takhar provinces have been the scene of heavy clashes over the past couple of months as Taliban has been trying to challenge the government forces in the once relatively peaceful region.

More than 2,560 civilians were killed and over 5,830 injured between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 this year in conflict-related incidents across Afghanistan, according to the latest figures released by UN mission in the country.

Ground engagements remained the largest cause of civilian casualties, followed by suicide attacks and improvised explosive device (IED) explosions.
• Afghan officials: blast kills 9 people on way to wedding</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. and Afghan forces came under fire on Thursday while targeting senior Taliban commanders during a joint operation in northern Kunduz province, calling in airstrikes during an assault that killed 26 civilians, three local troops and two American service members, NATO and local officials said.

NATO described the Americans killed and two other Americans wounded as being part of "a train, advise and assist mission," rare combat casualties for Western forces who handed over the task of securing Afghanistan to local troops some two years ago.

Meanwhile, Afghan officials said they were still investigating the attack and its civilian casualties, some of which may have been caused by the airstrikes. Residents later carried over a dozen corpses of the dead, including children, toward the local governor's office in a show of rage a year after American forces attacked an area hospital.

NATO declined to identify the Americans killed, pending notification of their next of kin. NATO and the Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press to further clarify the American troops' mission in the area.

"Today's loss is heartbreaking and we offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of our service members who lost their lives today," Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, said in a statement.

The target of the raid were two senior Taliban commanders, who were killed in the fighting along with 63 other insurgents, Kunduz police chief Gen. Qasim Jangalbagh said. He said Afghan special forces carried out the raid and that he did not have any information about NATO involvement in the assault.

Jangalbagh said 26 civilians, including members of the Taliban fighters' families, were killed in the assault.

Kunduz official Mohammad Yousf Ayoubi and parliament member Malim Chari both also told the AP that civilians were killed in the fighting, though they had few details. Dr. Mohammad Naim Mangal, the director of a Kunduz hospital, said his facility received the bodies of a dead man and a child and treated 30 people, including children, wounded in the fighting.

NATO only said it was "aware of the allegations," while the Pentagon did not immediately respond.

U.S. Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, briefing journalists in Brussels during a teleconference, said three Afghan troops were killed in the assault. Mohammad Radmanish, a deputy spokesman at the Afghan Defense Ministry, offered the same figure.

In a later statement, Cleveland said that "friendly forces received direct fire and airstrikes were conducted to defend themselves" and an investigation was underway.

He earlier described the assault as "not a common event," without elaborating.

A Taliban statement also said there were civilian casualties while claiming its fighters killed 16 U.S. troops. The insurgents often exaggerate their battlefield successes.

Taliban fighters briefly overran the city of Kunduz, the provincial capital with the same name, in early October, a show of strength by the insurgents that also highlighted the troubles facing local Afghan forces 15 years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country. The Taliban captured and held parts of Kunduz a year earlier as well before the city was fully liberated weeks later with the help of U.S. airstrikes.

Those 2015 airstrikes also saw a U.S. Air Force special operations AC-130 gunship attack a Kunduz hospital run by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, killing 42 people. Sixteen U.S. military personnel, including a two-star general, later were disciplined for what American officials described as mistakes that led the strike. Doctors Without Borders has called the attack a war crime and demanded an independent investigation.

Yet another airstrike killing civilians could stoke anger among Afghans, and the country's former President Hamid Karzai repeatedly clashed with NATO over them, straining relations.

On Thursday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a statement criticizing the Taliban for using women and children as "a shield" during the raid. He also announced a local investigation had been started.

NATO's combat operations ended in Afghanistan at the end of 2014, a move that put Afghan forces in charge of the country's security. Since then, Afghan forces have suffered heavy casualties battling the Taliban, who have at times overrun provincial capitals before being pushed back. Meanwhile, NATO and U.S. casualties have been few.

There have been at least other four combat deaths among American forces in Afghanistan in 2016. In October, a U.S. soldier was killed by a bomb in Nangarhar province while another was shot dead by a man wearing an Afghan army uniform in Kabul. In August, an American soldier was killed and another wounded by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan' southern Helmand province. In January, a U.S. soldier was killed by small arms fire in Helmand.

The fight in Afghanistan — American's longest war — began after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks as the Taliban harbored al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. The Taliban and Afghan government recently held secret talks to see if they could start peace negotiations to end the fighting, though questions remain over which faction of the insurgency is doing the talking.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan — A joint raid by U.S. and Afghan forces targeting senior Taliban commanders killed two American service members and 26 Afghan civilians on Thursday, authorities said, rare combat deaths for Western forces who handed over the task of securing Afghanistan to local troops some two years ago.

NATO described the Americans killed and two other Americans wounded in the assault as being part of “a train, advise and assist mission” in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province. Meanwhile, Afghan officials said they were still investigating the attack and its civilian casualties, some of which may have been caused by an airstrike.

“Today’s loss is heartbreaking and we offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of our service members who lost their lives today,” Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, said in a statement.

NATO declined to identify those killed, pending notification of the next of kin. NATO and the Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press to further clarify the American troops’ mission in the area.

The target of the raid appeared to be two senior Taliban commanders killed in the fighting among 65 insurgents, Kunduz police chief Gen. Qasim Jangalbagh said. He said Afghan special forces carried out the raid and that he did not have any information about NATO involvement in the assault.

Jangalbagh said 26 civilians, including members of the Taliban fighters’ families, were killed in the assault.

Kunduz official Mohammad Yousf Ayoubi and parliament member Malim Chari both also told the AP that civilians were killed in the fighting, though they had few details Dr. Mohammad Naim Mangal, the director of a Kunduz hospital, said his facility received the bodies of a dead man and a child and treated 30 people, including children, wounded in the fighting.

NATO only said it was “aware of the allegations,” while the Pentagon did not immediately respond.

U.S. Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, briefing journalists in Brussels during a teleconference, said three Afghan troops were killed in the assault and that an investigation was underway. Asked about the incident, he said: “It is not a common event.” He declined to elaborate.

A Taliban statement also said there were civilian casualties while claiming its fighters killed 16 U.S. troops. The insurgents often exaggerate their battlefield successes.

Taliban fighters briefly overran the city of Kunduz, the provincial capital with the same name, in early October, a show of strength by the insurgents that also highlighted the troubles facing local Afghan forces 15 years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country. The Taliban captured and held parts of Kunduz a year earlier as well before the city was fully liberated weeks later with the help of U.S. airstrikes.

Those 2015 airstrikes also saw a U.S. Air Force special operations AC-130 gunship attack a Kunduz hospital run by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, killing 42 people. Sixteen U.S. military personnel, including a two-star general, later were disciplined for what American officials described as mistakes that led the strike. Doctors Without Borders has called the attack a war crime and demanded an independent investigation.

NATO’s combat operations ended in Afghanistan at the end of 2014, a move that put Afghan forces in charge of the country’s security. Since then, Afghan forces have suffered heavy casualties battling the Taliban, who have at times overrun provincial capitals before being pushed back. Meanwhile, NATO and U.S. casualties have been few.

There have been at least other four combat deaths among American forces in Afghanistan in 2016. In October, a U.S. soldier was killed by a bomb in Nangarhar province while another was shot dead by a man wearing an Afghan army uniform in Kabul. In August, an American soldier was killed and another wounded by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan’ southern Helmand province. In January, a U.S. soldier was killed by small arms fire in Helmand.

The fight in Afghanistan — American’s longest war — began after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks as the Taliban harbored al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. The Taliban and Afghan government recently held secret talks to see if they could start peace negotiations to end the fighting, though questions remain over which faction of the insurgency is doing the talking.</s>An Afghan soldier fires a rocket-propelled grenade at Taliban positions on the outskirts of Kunduz during mop-up operations in October 2015. Both U.S. and Afghan forces conducted airstrikes in Kunduz on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016, during fighting in which two U.S. servicemembers were killed.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan military and the U.S. both conducted airstrikes near the northern city of Kunduz during an operation that ended Thursday morning in which more than 20 civilians may have been killed, officials said.

Afghan forces provided initial air support for a joint raid with NATO troops that targeted top Taliban commanders, but the Afghans requested foreign airstrikes after they were surrounded by enemy fire, Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Dawlat Waziri said Friday.

“The U.S. did conduct air-to-ground engagements in Kunduz in the early morning hours of Nov. 3 in defense of friendly forces,” said Gen. Charles Cleveland, spokesman for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Two American servicemembers where killed in heavy fighting and four others were wounded, NATO’s mission in Afghanistan said. Three Afghan special forces troops also died and seven were injured, Waziri said.

U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said in Washington on Thursday that the incident was under investigation.

“We obviously take any reports or allegations of civilian casualties very seriously. This was, however, an Afghan operation,” he said. “We’ll work with our Afghan partners in order to investigate this incident thoroughly.”

Kunduz provincial police spokesman Hijratullah Akbari said that as of Friday morning, there were 24 civilian fatalities, including women and children. As many as 10 others were injured during the operation, which occurred in the village of Buze Kandahari, a Taliban-dominated area.

“This is not acceptable, we want justice,” Haji Mira Jan, a village resident, told Stars and Stripes. “No one has the right to target innocent people and brutally kill them.”

Many in the area have been outraged by the killings and appeared to blame them on the United States. Videos posted online of a demonstration in Kunduz city against the civilian killings show people chanting, “death to America.”

NATO would not provide the identities of the American casualties until their next of kin were notified. Akbari of the Kunduz police said that during the fighting on Wednesday, enemy fighters had taken shelter in the homes of Buze Kandahari residents, using them as human shields.

Gul Agha Amini, a tribal leader in the area, said whoever is responsible for the civilian casualties must be brought to justice.

“Everyone involved in the current fighting is the same for us, whether they are Taliban, Afghan forces or foreign forces, they all kill civilians,” he said. “We don’t want any apologies or fake promises. We want those people prosecuted who killed innocent women and children.”

Fighting across Afghanistan has been particularly intense in recent months with the Taliban threatening six provincial capitals, including Kunduz.

Last month, Taliban fighters briefly infiltrated parts of Kunduz, Afghanistan’s fifth-largest city. Fighting has continued in the city’s outskirts and in Kunduz province, where about 100 NATO advisers and an undisclosed number of other troops are assisting the Afghans.

The insurgents occupied the entire city last year before being expelled by government forces with the help of U.S. airstrikes. During that operation, U.S. airstrikes destroyed a hospital run by the non-profit Doctors without Borders, killing 42 people. The U.S. punished 16 servicemembers.
Battle of Boz Qandahari: Two United States military personnel, four Afghan Commandos, and 30 civilians are killed in clashes with the Taliban in Kunduz province, Afghanistan.