Drone strike in Kabul killed 10, says US

 

The US has recently admitted that Kabul’s drone strike that took place days before its military pullout has killed 10 people. An investigation of US Central Command has found that an aid worker with 9 members of his family has died. It includes 7 children, among whom the youngest one, Sumaya, was 2 years old. This deadly strike took place days after a terror attack at Kabul airport. It took place amid the frenzied evacuation porches after the Taliban’s advent in the country.

It was one of the final acts of the US military in Afghanistan before the end of its 20 years of operation in the country. The US Intelligence has tracked the car of the aid worker for eight hours, and they believe that it has some link to IS-K militants.

The investigation found that the car was seen at a compound that had a connection with IS-K. Its movement was also aligned with other intelligence about the plan of the terror group to plot an attack on Kabul airport.

At one point, the drone has seen men loading explosive-like boxes in the boot of the car. However, it was water containers. Gen McKenzie has described this strike as a tragic mistake. He further added that there is no involvement of the Taliban with this drone strike.

The stroke happened when the aid worker Zamairi Ahmadi pulled into the driveway to his home from the airport. The explosion came with a second blast which is proof that the car was carrying explosives. However, the investigation later found that it was a propane tank that caused the secondary explosion.

One of the killed, Ahmad Naser, worked as a translator with US forces. Other victims have worked with international organizations. Relatives of the victims said that they applied for the evacuation. Therefore, they were waiting for their call from the airport.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “We now know that there was no connection between Mr. Ahmadi and Isis-Khorasan, that his activities on that day were completely harmless and not at all related to the imminent threat we believed we faced.

“We apologize, and we will endeavor to learn from this horrible mistake.”

As US started withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban took over the place. President Asraf Ghani escaped from the country to UAE. It has also sparked a major round of evacuation efforts from the US and other countries as thousands of people were trying to flee.

Credits: BBC