The United Nations said today it could confirm a military hospital had been destroyed in the western Afghan city of Herat but it had no information on casualties.
"Our information, which we received late this afternoon, is that a hospital in Herat was hit and it was reportedly destroyed," UN spokeswoman Ms Stephanie Bunker said.
"It was a military hospital, in a military compound in the eastern outskirts of the city . . . We have no idea of the casualties," she said.
The Taliban claimed yesterday up to 100 people were killed when US-led forces bombed and destroyed a hospital there.
Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press had reported a day earlier US bombs had destroyed an empty military hospital in Herat.
But US Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld said last night there was no evidence to support the Taliban claims.
US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen Richard Myers said: "We don't have the evidence yet so we will spend some time to figure out what the truth is, if we can do that".
The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) also dismissed claims its warplanes had been involved in the attack on the hospital.
"No British strike aircraft is involved in the current operation in Afghanistan, so none could have taken part in the alleged attack," said an MoD spokesman.