The US government has admitted that 10 civilians, who were killed in the drone attack in Kabul in late August, were innocent victims and were not affiliated with Daesh-K.
The Pentagon has offered unspecified
condolence payments to the family of 10 civilians who were
killed in a botched US drone attack in Afghanistan in August
during the final days before American troops withdrew from the
country.
The US Defense Department said on Friday it made a commitment that
included offering “ex-gratia condolence payments”.
It said it will work with the US State Department in support of the
family members, who were interested in relocation to the United
States.
Colin Kahl, the US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy,
held a virtual meeting on Thursday with Steven Kwon, the founder
and president of Nutrition & Education International, the aid
organisation that employed Zemari Ahmadi, who was killed in the
Aug 29 drone attack, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said.
READ MORE: Families of Afghan drone attack victims ask US to admit to ‘war crime’
Ahmadi and others who were killed in the strike were
innocent victims who bore no blame and were not affiliated with
Daesh-K or threats to US forces, Kirby
said.
The drone strike in Kabul killed as many as 10 civilians,
including seven children.
The Pentagon had said earlier that the Aug 29 strike
targeted a Daesh suicide bomber who posed an imminent
threat to US-led troops at the airport as they completed the
last stages of their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
READ MORE: US drone admission is just a drop in the bucket
However, reports had emerged almost immediately that the
drone strike in a neighbourhood west of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai
International Airport had killed civilians including children.
Video from the scene showed the wreckage of a car strewn around
the courtyard of a building.
The Pentagon later said the strike
was a “tragic mistake”.
The strike came three days after an Daesh suicide
bomber killed 13 US troops and scores of Afghan civilians who
had crowded outside the airport gates, desperate to secure seats
on evacuation flights, after US-trained Afghan forces melted
away and the Taliban swept to power in the capital in
mid-August.
The killing of civilians also raised questions about the
future of US counter-terrorism strikes in Afghanistan.
READ MORE: ‘My kids split in half’: Afghans seek answer after US strike kill civilians
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
US offers to pay to relatives of Afghans killed in botched drone strike
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