A mistake before leaving the country?
The New York Times published an investigation Friday disputing the US military's version of its latest strike in Afghanistan, saying it may have killed not a jihadist with the explosives-laden car, but an NGO worker. carrying water cans.
The United States destroyed on August 29, in an air strike by drone, a vehicle in Kabul, affirming that "it was loaded with explosives" and ensuring to have foiled an attempted attack by the Islamic State group.
The family of the driver of the vehicle, Ezmarai Ahmadi, told AFP, the day after the strike, that ten people, most of them children, had been killed.
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Afghanistan: two deadly explosions near Kabul airport
According to the American daily, which is based on images from surveillance cameras and on interviews, the trips deemed suspicious by the American army of Ezmarai Ahmadi on the day of the strike corresponded to an ordinary working day.
The NYT also indicates, based on surveillance camera footage, that the trunk of the car was likely filled with water cans the man was taking home.
"The strike was based on good information"
The newspaper also disputes, on the basis of interviews with experts, the version of the American army according to which the strike would have caused the secondary detonation of explosives stored in the trunk of the vehicle.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, when asked about the NYT revelations, said the investigation was continuing and assured that "no army in the world is as committed (as the United States) to avoiding civilian casualties."
"The strike was based on good intelligence, and we continue to believe that it prevented an imminent threat to the airport," he said in a short statement.
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The US attack came days after an IS suicide bomber unleashed a massive explosion at the entrance to Kabul airport, killing nearly 100 Afghans as well as 13 US service personnel. The US military left Afghanistan on August 30 after twenty years of war.
