AlHijjah 21, 1436, Oct 5, 2015, SPA -- A U.S. commander said Monday that an American airstrike that killed 22 people at a medical clinic in northern Afghanistan over the weekend was requested by Afghan forces who reported being under Taliban fire, and was not sought by US forces. General John Campbell, the top commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, told reporters at the Pentagon that he was correcting an initial American statement that said that the airstrikes had been in response to threats against US forces. "We have now learned that on October 3, Afghan forces advised that they were taking fire from enemy positions and asked for air support from US forces," Campbell said. "An airstrike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat and several civilians were accidentally struck. This is different from the initial reports which indicated that US forces were threatened and that the airstrike was called on their behalf."
