The US Defense Department admitted on Friday, September 17, that a drone strike in Kabul on August 29 killed ten civilians, including seven children. The Pentagon has so far claimed that the missile, the last known shot of the US military before its withdrawal from Afghanistan, was aimed at an explosive device in a vehicle suspected of belonging to the organization Islamic State in Khorassan (EI-K).
“It is unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were linked to IS-K”General Kenneth McKenzie, head of US forces in Afghanistan until their departure, told reporters on Friday, calling the strike“Tragic error”.
“Learn from this horrible mistake”
This change of speech by the military comes after the publication by several media, including the New York Times, information questioning the terrorist profile of the driver and occupants of the vehicle.
“I offer my deepest condolences to the still alive relatives of those who were killed”US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote in a statement, acknowledging that the man targeted was “Just an innocent victim, like other tragically killed people”. “We apologize and will do our best to learn from this horrible mistake”, he added
“No army works as hard as ours to avoid civilian casualties. When we have reason to believe that we have taken innocent lives, we investigate and, if it is true, we admit it ”, he said.