Showing posts with label war crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label war crime. Show all posts

Sunday, 15 April 2018

Discussion of ongoing war in Syria and western war crimes

Syrian Crises Not Over Yet


Israeli News Live



Does Syria hold US and British soldiers as prisoners of war. The evidence seems to be there and may be why the US, Britain and, France have launched strikes against Syria, and why the strikes were very carefully placed. 

Also tonight we join Dr Steven Pidgeon to analyze the Middle East conflict. Dr. Pidgeon is an attorney semi retired and President of the Cepher Publishing Group www.Cepher.net 

https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/04... 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...
https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-...



This is the article he refers to
Proof: Intel Drop, Trump, Bolton behind Syria chemical attacks, confirmed
Germany, Britain, America, Israel - VT provides proof of chemical warfare and war crimes.

8 April, 2018


SAA captured gas concentration unit. Made in America, 2015, by Hillrom Company, Michigan
Editor’s Note: VT has long covered the “aiding and abetting” of terrorists by the US coalition, and by derivation NATO, for some time now. We view its going on unchecked as a major national security threat to all countries.
Unfortunately Western corporate media, with financial resources far beyond VT, has played Mickey the Dunce on this whole story, the case usually being that the respective country intelligence agencies have warned them to stay away from it all, or suffer the consequences.
VT has also followed closely the long series of false flag chemical weapons attacks, both sarin and military-grade chlorine because we knew the Syrians would never be so stupid as to hand their heads to the US Coalition in a silver platter by doing something with no chance of any gain, but exactly the opposite.
We were also concerned that the longer “they” got away with doing this, the more innocent people would be murdered by the alleged protectors of freedom and democracy in the world, but who we know to be currently among the worst enemies of mankind.
Unfortunately, despite our best labors, the citizens of these countries have done almost nothing to hold those accountable in their own countries.
The SAA capturing this chemical weapons facility was a huge turn of events. The guilty parties knew what the Syrians had on them now. We have been waiting to see who would do what.
Now that might have changed, with our long pleadings for the Syrians to give us photographic proof of the chemical weapons assets they have been capturing – serial numbers and all – so we could cram it down the throats of the guilty, thinking maybe someone inside the respective countries might want to start asking some hard questions.
The flurry of military accidents also caught our attention, as we know historically that this method is used by the military to hide overseas combat deaths for which any public investigation would be embarrassing.
In Vietnam, if a thousand of our troops were lost in one week, the announcement would be spread out, the families lied to. Welcome to the dark underside of America.
The impending attack on Damascus by the US was partially due to what the SAA might uncover in East Ghouta; and because they were able to move fast, they overran the US Coalition’s chemical weapons operations faster than anyone thought possible.
Our pleading with Syria has been rewarded with these new photos. The SAA has US Coalition chemical weapons officers in custody; and Russia has told the US, Brits, Israelis, and Saudis that they will have to deal with Damascus.
How long US media and our own Congress can pretend they know nothing about who some of the major terrorist elements are that most are afraid to mention? Their house of cards is crumbling, and “they” will be more dangerous in that situation, as we are talking about some serious crimes here.
We are suspicious of why the Brits would throw together what appears to us to have been a sloppy false flag, even to use against Russia, for putting Russia’s feet in the fire to get the Brits people back from Syria and keep this story out of major news distribution.
Is now the time for some of the really guilty to have to pay the piper? We shall see. But for that to happen, what is left of non-compromised public institutions has to step up to the plate, when they have shown a hesitancy to do so when their countries really needed them.
We hope they will get to see this and start asking the obvious questions Jim W. Dean ]
A chemical artillery shell
– First published … April 08, 2018 –
Today another chemical weapons stockpile was found in East Ghouta, produced in Germany, fully weaponized and commercially produced by Merck. 
Merck was the primary producer of chemical weapons for Germany in World War I and George Merck founded the War Research Service along with Frank Olson in 1944, which using captured Germany and Japanese scientists and research facilities, took control of America’s biological and chemical warfare production which continues to this day in facilities at Fort Meade, Maryland and at the Lugar Lab in Tibilisi, Georgia in partnership with the current government of Ukraine.
Chlorine gas-filled shell from Porton Down, Salisbury, found in East Ghouta with al Qaeda
Editor’s Note: Sure, this canister has “smoke colored” staring out at us. For those who think we did not see that, what do you think Intel operatives do when they are moving banned weapons around, label them as Vx or Military grade chlorine or whatever? No, they just put them into a camouflage container in case someone is taking a quick peek it a shipment. Used ones are even better as they look like old stocked being shipped out to a third world conflict.
As for what these could be used for, how about throwing into a cellar filled with human shield pro-Damascus family members to generate a nice pile of bodies for our “un-free” Western media.
We are still waiting for the first verifiable report of a jhadi and or family that has been killed by one of these “attacks”, or a cemetery of the gassed martyrs, or even a headstone for such. The amateur script writers forgot about that part.
Of course, experienced Western journalists, and all your intelligence professional people have been aware of this, but how many have come forward for the people to blow the lid off this gassing hoax garbage when it is so obvious. Even if they were not involved they are now stained for going along it.
Of course if they did not have any of this stuff they could just do a Hollywood chemical weapons attack, the kind where you see White Helmet people dealing with “victims” without even wearing any kind of face mask Jim W. Dean ]
*
Last week, Russia and Syria announced the capture of British chemical weapon stockpiles in East Ghouta along with the capture of a “coalition” command and chemical weapons facility with all personnel. Taken from the combined statement censored from the western press, from March 25, 2018
“The Syrian Arab Army and with the help of Russian captured a shipment of chemical weapons destined for the Eastern Ghouta. These were British weapons produced at Porton Down in Salisbury.
Russian suspects that the Skripal incident is related as by their records, Skiripal was working at Porton Down as a chemical weapons trafficker in partnership with a Ukrainian firm. Russia denies attacking Skripal but admits he was under surveillance for his activities involving support of terrorism in Syria and arms trafficking.
Russia also confirms that there are British, American, Israeli and Saudi intelligence officers who were caught by the Syrian army in one of the heavily fortified operations rooms during the invasion of the Syrian army and its allies of the East Ghouta.” 
VT asked the Syrian government for serial numbers and closeup photographs of chemical weapons used. Syria sent them to us today.

Today, the Syrian Army captured the following German made poison gas shells, shipped into Syria though Ukraine and Turkey and delivered to Jeish al Islam by a US CH53 helicopter, according to statements “allegedly” gotten from POW interrogations.
American, British and Israeli military personnel captured in Syria have confirmed they were ordered to stage chemical attacks in East Ghouta by their governments.
The Americans are still being held along with Israeli’s while British prisoners are being negotiated for. Sources in Damascus told us that representatives of Oman in Damascus approached the Russian Office of Reconciliation on behalf of Britain for the return of British chemical warfare personnel.

The shells in the above video are identified as VX gas from British stockpiles.
Russian officials in Syria informed Britain through Oman that they would have to directly deal with Syria for the return of their personnel. We have received no further information since, Damascus has remained silent on how or if negotiations were proceeding.
We do know that US Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a US Army combat veteran of Iraq, met with both President Assad and Donald Trump, in order to arrange for covert exchange, for substantial financial consideration, of captured Americans.
Initial introductions for this meeting were done by VT.
Israel bought back a Brigadier General (they claimed he was a colonel) in 2015 that we know about.
The recent gas attack in Syria, timed as the last terrorists were surrendering for relocation inside the Douma region of the Ghouta pocket, was planned personally by nominated presidential advisor John Bolton and President Donald Trump personally, according to highly placed sources.
Our sources in Russia, highest level, told us the attack was coming based on information they received from US and Israeli prisoners taken in East Ghouta after an evacuation attempt failed.
US casualty announcements in this effort have been released over the past few days as happening in other areas to cover US complicity in terrorism. This dishonors families of the dead, not just in the misuse of service members to support terrorism but in lying to families about combat deaths. This shame goes directly to coward Trump!
The Marine Corps identified four Marines killed on Tuesday in a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crash near El Centro, Calif. The Marines were assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 465, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
“The loss of our Marines weighs heavy on our hearts,” Maj. Gen. Mark Wise, commanding general of 3rd MAW, said in a statement.
“Our priority is to provide support for our families and HMH-465 during this critical time.”
The four Marines killed in the crash were Capt. Samuel A. Schultz, First Lt. Samuel D. Phillips, Gunnery Sgt. Derik R. Holley and Lance Cpl. Taylor J. Conrad.”
Other US casualties were listed as a US Air Force F16 that allegedly crashed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and up to 6 Americans who the US claims were killed by “Kurdish forces” in the north of Syria.
All died in a failed combined US/Israel rescue operation to remove not only communications and command personnel but also chemical weapons operations teams as well.
Last week, VT Damascus received evidence that Americans, US Army Special Forces along with Israeli chemical weapons officers had been captured in East Ghouta. We were told that not only was a command facility captured with modern weapons but a stockpile of British made 81mm poison gas mortar shells, numbering in the hundreds, was seized as well.
Video’s were viewed by former MOD weapons specialists who identified the green stripe on the shells seized in East Ghouta as VX gas from British stockpiles.
The Obama administration investigated alleged chemical attacks in 2012 and 2013 and advised Syria to turn over chemical stockpiles as a way of discouraging terrorists from continuing to stage chemical attacks to blame on Damascus.
Most efforts had their roots in Britain’s MI6 and its affiliates, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the White Helmets.
The US is currently facing combined military operations against its occupied zone in Syria by Iraq, Syrian and Russian forces. The US has been told to remove forces from Syria or face a wider conflict.
The US and Russia have been at war against one another inside Syria for about a month now.
More coming…

BOMBSHELL: Russia Has ‘Irrefutable’ Proof Syrian Gas Attack Staged by ‘Foreign State’
Patrick Fleming

14 April, 2018

In a shocking revelation yesterday, at a news conference in Moscow with Dutch politician Stef Blok, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia has proof that the Syria gassing was a false flag staged by the ‘special services of a foreign state’:
We have irrefutable evidence that it was another staging, and the special services of a state which is in the forefront of the Russophobic campaign had a hand in the staging,”
This is important because if Lavrov is not bluffing, and his record is excellent on this, he usually only says this kind of thing if he can back it up, it will be a political bombshell in the West over the coming weeks, where large segments of the electorate are furious at their governments for the missile attacks, and are questioning the justification for launching them.

Indeed, the only explanation of the attacks that makes any logical sense is that it was a false flag, because, as has been exhaustively discussed everywhere except the mainstream media (which for some reason avoids this speculation), 

Assad would have no conceivable motive for using gas, because he has won the war, and doing so would only bring in US intervention. The circumstances certainly do look like a classic false flag situation.

The main suspects for such a false flag would be, MI6, CIA, or Mossad, or some combination of them collaborating, as they often do. No other allied state, like Saudi Arabia or even ISIS would do this without approval and oversight from one of these big three.

On the surface it looks like the US/UK/French attack looks suspect at best, because it was rushed into action before any convincing proof was presented.

Thursday, 21 July 2016

French take revenge in Syria


And we wonder why they attack us?!


Bloody massacres’: Syria appeals to UN after French & US airstrikes ‘kill over 140 civilians’


Syrian civilians killed in French strikes.


ITCW,
20 July, 2016


Syria is demanding the UN take action after it says French war planes killed more than 120 civilians during airstrikes on Tuesday near the Turkish-Syrian border. The deaths came just a day after US air assaults killed a further 20 people in Manbij.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent letters to the UN secretary general and to the president of the UN Security Council, which at present is Japan.



Damascus wants the organization to look into atrocities committed by France, which is a member of the US-led international coalition, after it targeted the village of Toukhan Al-Kubra, located near the Turkish-Syrian border and the city of Manbij.

View image on Twitter

View image on Twitter

View image on Twitter

View image on Twitter

The mass death toll in Toukhan Al-Kubra came just a day after US war planes killed around 20 people, mainly women and children, while many more were injured in and around the city of Manbij, the Foreign Ministry states.

The government of the Syrian Arab Republic condemns, with the strongest terms, the two bloody massacres perpetrated by the French and US warplanes and those affiliated to the so-called international coalition which send their missiles and bombs to the civilians instead of directing them to the terrorist gangs… Syria also affirms that those who want to combat terrorism seriously should coordinate with the Syrian government and army,” the ministry added.


In the letter, the Syrian Foreign Ministry added that it condemns the continued support by the US, France, Saudi Arabia, the UK and Qatar to terrorist organizations such as Al-Nusra Front and Jaish Al-Islam, despite these groups having clear links to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Al-Qaeda.


MANBIJ: 20 JUL 2016. 0130 UTC. Heavy airstrikes continue. Nat'l Hospital taken. Fighting in W urban areas.



Western leaders support terror groups in Syria, get extremism at home – Assad


The reality is telling that, since the beginning of the American airstrikes, terrorism has been expanding and prevailing,” he told the channel, specifying that “during the American and alliance airstrikes, ISIS was expanding and taking over new areas in Syria.”


It’s about being serious, having the will. The United States doesn’t have the will to defeat the terrorists. It had the will to control them and to use them as a card, like they did in Afghanistan. That will reflect on the military aspect of the issue,”Assad said.

The French unjust aggression claimed the lives of more than 120 civilians, most of them are children, women and elderly, in addition to tens of wounded citizens, the majority of them are also children and women as reports say that the fate of scores of other civilians who still under debris are unknown too,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry wrote, as cited by the Syrian Arab News Agency.

The human rights watchdog Amnesty International also hit out at the US-led coalition, saying that it needs to do more to prevent the deaths of civilians.

Anyone responsible for violations of international humanitarian law must be brought to justice and victims and their families should receive full reparation,” Amnesty’s interim Middle East director Magdalena Mughrabi said, as cited by Reuters.

A spokesman for the US Department of Defense says that it is aware of the loss of civilian life in Syria.

We are aware of reports alleging civilian casualties near Manbij, Syria, recently. As with any allegation we receive, we will review any information we have about the incident,” Matthew Allen said in a statement.

We take all measures during the targeting process to avoid or minimize civilian casualties or collateral damage and to comply with the principles of the Law of Armed Conflict,” he added.

The US-led coalition has been providing air support to the rebel group the Syrian Arab Coalition, which is involved in heavy fighting around the city of Manbij, currently under the control of Islamic State.

The terrorist group has been in control of the city since it seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq in the summer of 2014.

In an interview with NBC News last week, Syrian President Bashar Assad said that the US is not interested in defeating terrorists in Syria as it really wants “to control and use them.”

Source


Sunday, 4 October 2015

A heinous war crime in Afghanistan

Interesting that as I checked, while NATO commits a war crime in Afghanistan the western media is silent about Russia's airstrikes on ISIS. The Empire's in trouble.

Patients were burning in their beds’: Witnesses recall horrific Kunduz hospital airstrike


RT,
3 October, 2015

Afghan child receiving treatment at a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in the northern city of Kunduz © Shah Marai
Afghan child receiving treatment at a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in the northern city of Kunduz © Shah Marai / AFP

Seeing their colleagues and patients die was a horrifying shock, according to survivors of the deadly air raid on a hospital in Afghanistan. The tragedy, medical staff said, simply cannot be dismissed as “collateral damage” from a botched airstrike.
On bombing of @MSF hospital in Kunduz: "We cannot accept that this horrific loss of life will simply be dismissed as ‘collateral damage.’”
MSF International (@MSF) October 3, 2015

Recalling the tense minutes of continuous airstrikes which hit the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, NGO staff said that the destruction of the hospital is nothing short of a “grave violation of international humanitarian law.”


The aerial bombing raids took place between 2:08am and 3:15am local time and were carried out at approximately 15 minute intervals, with the main hospital building being “repeatedly hit very precisely” during each raid, MSF said. The tragedy happened despite the fact that MSF had provided the US-led command with the GPS coordinates of the hospital to make sure that the hospital would not be hit.
#MSF staff saving lives after being bombed in Kunduz. Don't cal it collateral damagehttp://t.co/XUxHyvtI5cpic.twitter.com/8U2yguxegv
Sergio Cecchini (@SergioCecchini) October 3, 2015

A survivor of the horrific bombardment, MSF nurse Lajos Zoltan Jecs, who had been inside the facility during the attack, described the airstrikes as “absolutely terrifying.”

At first there was confusion and dust settling” he said, as cited by the MSF website. “As we were trying to work out what was happening, there was more bombing.”

The bombs hit and then we heard the plane circle round,” recalled Heman Nagarathnam, MSF’s head of programs in northern Afghanistan. “There was a pause, and then more bombs hit. This happened again and again.”



Zoltan remembers seeing one of the emergency room nurses sustain massive trauma to his arm.

He was covered in blood, with wounds all over his body. At that point my brain just couldn't understand what was happening. For a second I was just stood still, shocked,” Zoltan said.

When the bombing stopped, some of the survivors left their shelters looking for those who could possibly have remained alive. Others, in a panic, tried to escape to safety, as the main hospital building was engulfed in flames.

We tried to take a look into one of the burning buildings. I cannot describe what was inside. There are no words for how terrible it was,” Zoltan said.

In the intensive care unit six patients were burning in their beds,” he dded.

UPDATED: US continued bombing Afghan hospital despite @MSF pleashttp://t.co/LyX2491BVHpic.twitter.com/FWClkdi7PQ
teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) October 3, 2015

Those people that could, had moved quickly to the building’s two bunkers to seek safety. But patients who were unable to escape burned to death as they lay in their beds,” Nagarathnam remember.

One patient was left in the operating room on the table “dead, in the middle of the destruction,” the nurse recalled.


Urgent surgery was carried out on one of the doctors on the office table but he did not survive. Zoltan remembers that there were “too many that we couldn’t help.”
#MSF zonal hospital in #Kunduz bombed by US planes, Dozens of medics, patients died...!pic.twitter.com/bKPuqnINpL
Inayat ullah kakar (@Kalamnigar) October 3, 2015

Eltaf Najafizada, a freelance journalist for RT, found out about the death of his friend Aminullah Salarzai on social media. He had worked at the hospital as a doctor.

It’s a really sad moment concerning the death of my friend. He was in his 20’s and was engaged. He worked as a physician at the Doctors Without Borders hospital. He was loved by all those around him. I really miss him.”
Dr. Aminullah Salarzai, killed last night in #Kunduz Doctors Without Borders's hospital.#Afghanistanpic.twitter.com/fDRLDFQTm9
Bashir Ahmad Gwakh (@bashirgwakh) October 3, 2015

The charity has confirmed 19 deaths, 12 of whom were staff. Four were adult patients, along with three children. A further 37 were left wounded. At the time of the bombing, 105 patients, and more than 80 MSF international and national staff were in the hospital.



From Glenn Greenwald




Yesterday afternoon, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power marched to Twitter to proclaim: “we call on Russia to immediately cease attacks on Syrian oppo[sition and] civilians.” Along with that decree, she posted a statement from the U.S. and several of its closest authoritarian allies – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UK – warning Russia that civilian casualties “will only fuel more extremism and radicalization.”

Early this morning, in the Afghan city of Kunduz, the U.S. dropped bombs on a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)). The airstrike killed at least 9 of the hospital’s medical staff, and seriously injured dozens of patients. “Among the dead was the Afghan head of the hospital, Abdul Sattar,” reported The New York Times. 

Jason Cone, MSF’s Executive Director, said the medical charity “condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific bombing of its hospital in Kunduz full of staff and patients.” He added that “all parties [to the] conflict, including in Kabul & Washington, were clearly informed of precise GPS Coordinates of MSF facilities in Kunduz,” and that the “precise location of MSF Kunduz hospital [was] communicated to all parties on multiple occasions over past months, including on 9/29.” Worst of all, from MSF itself:
Bombing continued for >30 minutes after American & Afghan military officials in Kabul & Washington first informed of proximity to hospital.
MSF International (@MSF) October 3, 2015


For its part, the U.S. military in Afghanistan issued a statement acknowledging that it carried out airstrikes, claimed they were conducted “against individuals threatening the force,” and conceded that “the strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility.” But the NYT reported: “From early on, the Taliban had respected the hospital’s request not to bring weapons inside, according to staff members, and the hospital had been a refuge in the shattered city of Kunduz. It was a place where the wounded from all sides were treated.”

The medical organization noted that “our hospital in Kunduz was the only one of its kind in NorthEastern Afghanistan.” It referenced a now-poignant tweet it posted earlier in the week:
Since early Monday morning, our medical teams in Kunduz,#Afghanistan have treated 252 wounded, including 53 childrenpic.twitter.com/hjmhYMSdpS
MSF Canada (@MSF_canada) September 30, 2015

Now, however, the Twitter accounts of various MSF branches are filled with horrific photographs of their staff traumatized and their hospital burning as a result of U.S. bombs:
Photos of aftermath of the bombing that left 3 staff dead & many ppl wounded. #Afghanistan http://t.co/pjecwxuPSspic.twitter.com/OnSZXwc2x9
MSF UK Press Office (@MSF_Press) October 3, 2015

MSF’s full, frequently updated, hard-to-read account of all of this is here.

This strike on a hospital in Afghanistan comes days after the Saudi-led coalition bombed a wedding in Yemen that killed more than 130 people. After days of silence from the U.S. Government – which has actively participated from the start in the heinous bombing of Yemen – Ambassador Power finally acknowledged the wedding massacre, but treated it like some natural disaster that has nothing to do with the U.S.: “Terrible news from Yemen of killing of innocent civilians & aid workers. Urgently need pol solution to crisis,” she tweeted.


Her accompanying statement claimed that “the United States has no role in the targeting decisions made by the Coalition in Yemen,” but yesterday, the Saudi Foreign Minister told CBS News that “We work with our allies including the United States on these targets.” There’s no dispute that the U.S. has lavished the Saudis with all sorts of weapons and intelligence as it carries out its civilian-massacring attacks on Yemen.

This last week has been a particularly gruesome illustration of continuous U.S. conduct under the War on Terror banner, including under the Nobel Peace Prize-winning president who celebrates himself for “ending two wars” (in the same two countries where the U.S. continues to drop bombs). The formula by now is clear: bombing whatever countries it wants, justifying it all by reflexively labeling their targets as “terrorists,” and then dishonestly denying or casually dismissing the civilians they slaughter as “collateral damage.” If one were to construct a list of all the countries in the world based on their credibility to condemn Russia for using this exact rhetorical template in Syria, the U.S. would literally be last on that list.


UPDATE: U.S. officials went to TIME Magazine yesterday to announce that Russia will be creating more terrorists than they kill as a result of misguided airstrikes in Syria. “We believe if you inadvertently kill innocent men, women and children, then there’s a backlash from that,” Lieut. General Bob Otto, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance said. “We might kill three and create 10 terrorists. It really goes back to the question of are we killing more than were making?”

It’s impossible to fathom what the U.S. media would be saying and doing if Russia did something like this in Syria. By contrast, the reaction to this airstrike by their own government will be muted and filled with apologia, ironically quite similar to the widely vilified caricature of Jeb Bush’s comments about the Oregon shooting spree: “stuff happens.”

UPDATE II: Al Jazeera reports that the hospital bombed by the U.S. “is the only medical facility in the region that can deal with major injuries.” Nonetheless, “officials of MSF … told Reuters that they ‘frantically phoned’ NATO and Washington DC, as bombs rained on the hospital for ‘nearly an hour.'”

UPDATE III: The latest casualty figures from MSF:
LATEST: 16 ppl killed – 9 MSF staff, 7 patients (3 children). 37 injured – 19 staff (5 critical) & 18 patients & caretakers. #Afghanistan
MSF UK (@MSF_uk) October 3, 2015

Speaking to the nation just three days ago about the Oregon shooting spree, Barack Obama said: “This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months…” That applies to a lot more than that incident.

UPDATE IV: Several reports suggest that this hospital has been viewed with hostility because it treats all injured human beings, regardless of which side they’re on. “The hospital treated the wounded from all sides of the conflict, a policy that has long irked the Afghan security forces,” reports the NYT. Al Jazeera notes that “a caretaker at the hospital, who was severely injured in the air strike, told Al Jazeera that clinic’s medical staff did not favour any side the conflict. ‘We are here to help and treat civilians,’ Abdul Manar said.” That same caretaker added: “Several women and children are also killed in the strike. I could hear them screaming for help inside the hospital while it was set ablaze by the bombing. We are terrified and speechless.”

UPDATE V: The U.N. human rights chief has denounced the U.S. airstrike as “tragic, inexcusable, and possibly even criminal.”

This is not the first time this has happened. In 2004, U.S. airstrikes in Falluja, Iraq hit a hospital and “razed it to the ground.”