The August 29 drone attack took place in the final days of the Kabul evacuation.
The US military involved in a drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, in late August will not be punished, the Pentagon reported Monday.
“There is not enough evidence to hold them personally responsible,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. The decision for the attack, which took place in the last days of the US presence in Afghanistan, was made by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, following a report by two senior officials.
The Aug. 29 drone attack took place in the final days of the U.S.-led evacuation of Kabul, after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.
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US officials said they had intelligence on a possible Islamic State attack on evacuation operations at Kabul airport, and launched a missile from a drone at a target that was actually a family of civilians, including an Afghan employee of an American aid group.
In early November, an initial report by US Air Force Inspector General Lt. Gen. Sami Said called the attack tragic, but calling it “an honest mistake.”
The review by Central Command Chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr. and Special Operations Command Chief Gen. Richard Clarke used Said’s report and detailed recommendations on procedures for future drone strikes.
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However, he did not demand that someone be punished for the mistake.
“What we saw here was a breakdown in the process, in enforcement and procedural events, not the result of negligence, not the result of misconduct, not the result of poor leadership,” Kirby said.
If Austin “believed … that accountability was justified, he would certainly support such efforts,” he added. (I)
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