White House refuses to apologize for airstrike on Afghan hospital

The White House on Tuesday refused to explicitly apologize for the mistaken military strike of a charity hospital in Afghanistan.

Asked repeatedly whether the Obama administration felt compelled to apologize for the incident, which killed at least 22 people, White House press secretary Josh Earnest instead pointed to the numerous ongoing investigations into the tragedy.

“The fact of the matter is there is an ongoing investigation and there is more that must be learned about this particular incident so the president can get the full accounting,” he told reporters. “At this point, I would defer additional comment until we see more results of the investigation.”

U.S. Army Gen. John F. Campbell told a congressional committee Tuesday that the hospital had been “mistakenly struck.” Doctors Without Borders and other international groups have called the strike a war crime.

There are at least three separate investigations into the incident, including one being conducted by the Defense Department and another coordinated by U.S. and Afghan officials.