US to pay compensation to Kunduz hospital strike victims

The Pentagon has said it would pay compensation to those who were injured and family members of those killed in the "mistaken" US air strike on a hospital in the Kunduz city of Afghanistan last week.
It has also offered to repair the hospital that was damaged in the air strike that killed more than 20 people. However, the amount of compensation was not specified.
"The Department of Defence believes it is important to address the consequences of the tragic incident at the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan," the Pentagon Press Secretary, Peter Cook, said yesterday.
"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 US military operations," he said.

Under the Commanders' Emergency Response Program (CERP), US Forces-Afghanistan has the authority to make condolence payments and payments toward repair of the hospital, he said.
USFOR-A will work with those affected to determine appropriate payments, he added.
"If necessary and appropriate, the administration will seek additional authority from the Congress," Cook said.