The Pentagon has accepted that a US drone raid in Afghanistan’s capital in late August was a mistake, and apologized for the attack that killed 10 civilians, including children.
In a news briefing, the head of the US Central Command General Frank McKenzie acknowledged that it was “unlikely” that those killed in the drone strike were associated with the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP, as the US military had originally claimed.
McKenzie said, “Having thoroughly reviewed the findings of the investigation and the supporting analysis by interagency partners, I am now convinced that as many as 10 civilians, including up to seven children, were tragically killed in that strike.”
Offering his “profound condolences” to the families of the victims, McKenzie said, “It was a mistake, and I offer my sincere apology. As a combatant commander, I am fully responsible for this strike and this tragic outcome.”
The US general stressed that the strike was carried out with the “earnest belief” that the strike “had averted an imminent threat to our forces at the airport” who were facilitating the evacuation of people.
McKenzie said that the Pentagon was initially confident of the intelligence available at the time that led to the strike. He noted that he ordered a “comprehensive review” of the footage of the attack 24 hours after it had taken place.
The US general said, “Based upon that assessment, I and other leaders in the Department repeatedly asserted the validity of this strike. I’m here today to set the record straight and acknowledge our mistakes.”
While McKenzie was underlining the faults in the early assessment that led to the drone strike, McKenzie told the news briefing said the US was considering “ex gratia” financial compensation for the families of the victims. He; however, added that it was difficult to reach out to people on the ground in Afghanistan in the current circumstances.
In a separate statement, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also offered his condolences to the families of the victims saying, “We apologize, and we will endeavour to learn from this horrible mistake.”
Austin said he was ordering a “thorough review” of the investigation into the attack. He said the review will also consider the need to alter “strike authorities, procedures and processes” in the future.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Secretary Austin has asked for a review of the drone raid investigation to include accountability for the measures used to choose the target.
The drone strike in question was carried out on August 29, days after an ISKP-claimed suicide bombing near the airport killed at least 175 people, including 13 US service members.
At the time, the US was on its way to withdraw all of its forces from Afghanistan as the Taliban took over the country in mid-August. The US – under an agreement with the Taliban – remained in control of the airport and oversaw a chaotic evacuation operation to airlift American citizens, third-country nationals, and Afghan allies.
Earlier, American military and intelligence officials had warned of “credible” threats to the airport by ISKP throughout the evacuation operation.
In the aftermath of the “mistaken” drone strike, the Pentagon had rejected the media reports of the civilian casualties and the claims of the family members of the drone strike victims.
On September 1, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley maintained that the military followed procedures to carry out the strike saying, “I don’t want to influence the outcome of an investigation, but at this point, we think that the procedures were correctly followed and it was a righteous strike.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of House Intelligence Committee Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff expressed concerns about “accuracy and completeness of public statements” after the drone attack.
In a statement, Schiff said, “In acknowledging that error, the Department of Defense has taken the first step towards transparency and accountability. And after such a devastating failure – one that, by the Department’s estimate, killed 10 civilians, at least 7 of them children – it cannot be the last step.”
“We need to know what went wrong in the hours and minutes leading up to the strike to prevent similar tragedies in the future,” Schiff added.
Elsewhere, Amnesty International welcomed the acknowledgement of civil deaths by the US drone strike military. Amnesty also demanded the prosecution of those “suspected of criminal responsibility” in the attack.
In a statement, senior advisor to Amnesty Brian Castner said, “Survivors and families of the victims should be kept informed of the progress of the investigation and be given full reparation. It should be noted that the US military was only forced to admit to its failure in this strike because of the current global scrutiny on Afghanistan.”
