The U.S. Department of Defense says it will make "condolence payments" to the families of those killed and survivors of a U.S. airstrike that mistakenly struck a Doctors Without Border hospital in Afghanistan last week
At least 22 people were killed in the aerial bombardment of the charity hospital during fighting in Kunduz on Oct. 3. The dead included 12 staff members and 10 patients, including three children, Doctors Without Borders said.
"The Department of Defense believes it is important to address the consequences of the tragic incident at the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement Saturday.
"One step the Department can take is to make condolence payments to civilian non-combatants injured and the families of civilian non-combatants killed as a result of U.S. military operations," the department said.
The Defense Department said it would work with victims to determine the amount of compensation.
Payments will also be made to repair the medical facility, the Defense Department said. Congressional approval will be sought if necessary, the department said.
RELATED: Witnesses Recount Deadly Airstrike at Kunduz Hospital
President Barack Obama called the charity's chief on Wednesday to apologize for the airstrike, which the Pentagon admitted was a mistake.
The airstrike occurred amid a push by Afghan forces to retake Kunduz from the Taliban, which seized the northern city in an offensive that began Sept. 28. Afghan forces asked for the airstrike, the Pentagon has said.
Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, has called for an investigation by the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission.
