Watch | US says ‘human error’ led to strike on Afghanistan hospital

A US airstrike at a military hospital last month in northern Afghanistan killed 30 people.

Now, a US investigation report suggests it was due to a 'human error where the crew misidentified the target', believing it to be a government compound taken over by the Taliban. The report said the crew of the U.S. AC-130 gunship relied on a physical description of the compound provided by Afghan forces, which led the crew to attack the wrong target. It said the intended target, thought to be under Taliban control and being used in part as a prison, was 450 yards away from the hospital.

Investigators found no evidence that the crew or the U.S. Special Forces commander on the ground who authorized the strike knew the targeted compound was a hospital at the time of the attack.

That does not necessarily absolve them of blame, however, and a follow-up U.S. military investigation will determine any disciplinary action. President Barack Obama has apologized for the attack, one of the worst incidents of civilian casualties in the 14-year history of the U.S war effort.