The US commander of international forces in Afghanistan has said an air strike on a hospital in the northern city of Kunduz was a mistake.
Gen John Campbell said that the US would never intentionally target a protected medical facility.
At least 22 people were killed in the attack as government forces battled to retake the city from the Taliban.
Gen Campbell also said that the US must consider boosting its military presence in Afghanistan after 2016.
He said that such a measure would be necessary if the Taliban upsurge was to be repelled and Afghanistan's military kept up to fighting strength.
The "tenuous security situation" might require a re-think of any reduction, the general said.
Gen Campbell also said that the US must consider boosting its military presence in Afghanistan after 2016.
He said that such a measure would be necessary if the Taliban upsurge was to be repelled and Afghanistan's military kept up to fighting strength.
The "tenuous security situation" might require a re-think of any reduction, the general said.
To begin with the language was guarded, as one would expect from an officer mindful of the chain of command, but the message delivered on Capitol Hill by America's top military commander in Afghanistan soon became abundantly clear: the Obama administration should rethink its plan to reduce the number of US troops in the country from the present level of 9,800 to 1,000 by the end of next year.
"Yes sir," said Gen John F Campbell, when asked whether his commander-in-chief, President Obama, should review the drawdown plan.
Restricting the American presence to a security force based at the US embassy in Kabul would mean that the ability to train, advise and assist Afghan forces would be "very limited", he said.
As for counter-terrorism operations, they also would be "much more limited".
Alternative recommendations had been presented to the White House, although Gen Campbell would not provide specifics. But the options were "above and beyond a normal embassy presence".
What he was essentially saying was that the US military cannot abandon Afghanistan, given the resurgence of the Taliban and the inability of Afghan forces to fight the insurgents by themselves.
Medical charity MSF has called for an independent international inquiry into the Kunduz attack.
It has launched a Twitter campaign in support of its demand.
The charity said that statements from the Afghan government implied that the hospital had been deliberately targeted - and amounted to an admission of a war crime.
"Yes sir," said Gen John F Campbell, when asked whether his commander-in-chief, President Obama, should review the drawdown plan.
Restricting the American presence to a security force based at the US embassy in Kabul would mean that the ability to train, advise and assist Afghan forces would be "very limited", he said.
As for counter-terrorism operations, they also would be "much more limited".
Alternative recommendations had been presented to the White House, although Gen Campbell would not provide specifics. But the options were "above and beyond a normal embassy presence".
What he was essentially saying was that the US military cannot abandon Afghanistan, given the resurgence of the Taliban and the inability of Afghan forces to fight the insurgents by themselves.
Medical charity MSF has called for an independent international inquiry into the Kunduz attack.
It has launched a Twitter campaign in support of its demand.
The charity said that statements from the Afghan government implied that the hospital had been deliberately targeted - and amounted to an admission of a war crime.
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