WASHINGTON – The crew of a U.S. warplane that repeatedly pummeled a medical charity’s hospital in northern Afghanistan last month, killing and wounding dozens of civilians, misidentified the target, believing it to be a government compound taken over by the Taliban, according to an investigation report obtained today.

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.

The plane fired 211 shells at the compound over a 25-minute period before commanders realized the mistake and ordered a halt, it says. The Doctors Without Borders charity that runs the hospital contacted coalition military personnel during the attack to say their facility was “being ’bombed’ from the air,” and the word finally was relayed to the AC-130 crew, the report said.

The report says the attack on Oct. 3 in the city of Kunduz killed at least 31 civilians and injured 28 others. Investigators determined that additional civilians likely were killed or injured.