Afghanistan: USA makes "tragic mistake"

The US military has been receiving criticism for weeks for the chaos following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

It has now been acknowledged that a drone attack hit innocent people.

Washington DC - The US military admitted another mistake to the much-criticized withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan * when the radical Islamic Taliban * came to power. In a drone attack in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, according to the military leadership in the USA *, instead of endangering the Isis-K group, “up to ten innocents” were killed, including seven children. This was admitted by General Kenneth McKenzie, who heads the US Central Command Centcom, on Friday (September 17, 2021).

The general described the drone attack on a vehicle that had been mistakenly identified as a threat from the IS offshoot as a tragic mistake.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed his condolences to the families of those killed and said: "We apologize and will endeavor to learn from this terrible mistake."

Afghanistan: US forces drone attack in Kabul - There was no imminent threat

The drone attack was in response to a terrorist attack by the IS terrorist group that killed over 180 people at Kabul Airport.

In a retaliatory strike, the US troops claimed to have killed two high-ranking representatives of Isis-K in a drone attack in the Afghan province of Nangarhar.

Then, on August 29, the drone attack not far from the airport in Kabul, which was initially reported to have contained "a large amount of explosives" in the destroyed vehicle.

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"Up to ten" people were killed in a drone attack on a vehicle in Kabul.

The US military has now confirmed: they were innocent.

© Wakil Kohsar / AFP

Shortly after this air attack, the media reported that several civilians had died in the drone attack.

The US did not directly reject this, but announced an examination.

McKenzie specifically said, “I'm here today to straighten this out and admit our mistake.” He emphasized, “This blow was carried out in the grave belief that it would prevent an imminent threat to our armed forces from the evacuees at the airport, but this was a mistake. ”The US military deeply regrets this.

Afghanistan: No hasty attack - USA is considering compensation after drone attack

During his appearance, McKenzie set out the processes in the hours before the air strike and presented a map on which the movements of the car hit were traced. It was not a "hasty attack", he emphasized. The vehicle had previously been observed for eight hours and was very worried that it was moving towards the airport. The Americans expected further attacks there in the last few days before the US military withdrew.

McKenzie apologized for the dramatic miscalculation, but defended the drone attack with the suspected threat and emphasized that it was a self-defense attack.

When asked, the general said that compensation was being considered.

It was not more specific.

But he emphasized: "As the commander, I am fully responsible for the tragic outcome of the attack." The last US troops left Kabul at the end of August, shortly after the drone attack.

This ended the international military operation in Afghanistan after almost 20 years.

The government of President Joe Biden * has already faced massive international criticism because of the troop withdrawal and the chaotic circumstances.

(ska / dpa)

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List of rubric lists: © Wakil Kohsar / AFP