Kabul drone strike was a mistake, admits top U.S. military commander

A top U.S. military commander has conceded as a “mistake” the drone strike by the American forces in Kabul last month, targeting ISIS-K terrorists days after a bombing at the town airport, that killed 10 civilians, including up to seven children.

Briefing reporters on the results of the investigation of the August 29 strike, General Frank McKenzie, the commander of the US Central Command, also said it had been “unlikely that the vehicle and people who died within the drone strike were related to ISIS-K or were an immediate threat to US forces”.

However, the strike must be considered within the context of the on-ground situation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport following the ISIS-K attack that killed 13 soldiers, sailors, and Marines and quite 100 civilians. Also, a considerable body of intelligence had indicated the imminence of another attack, he said.

Gen. McKenzie said that having thoroughly reviewed the findings of the probe and supporting analysis, he’s convinced that as many as 10 civilians, including up to seven children, were tragically killed therein drone strike.

Apology
“It was an error , and that i offer my sincere apology. because the combatant commander, i’m fully liable for this strike and this tragic outcome,” he told reporters at a Pentagon press conference .

“Moreover, we now assess that it’s unlikely that the vehicle and people who died were related to ISIS-K or were an immediate threat to US forces. I offer my profound condolences to the family and friends of these who were killed. This strike was taken within the earnest belief that it might prevent an imminent threat to our forces and therefore the evacuees at the airport,” he said.

Gen McKenzie said that 48 hours before the strike, sensitive intelligence indicated that the compound was getting used by ISIS-K planners to facilitate future attacks.

“We were also receiving a big number of reports indicating multiple avenues of attack, being planned simultaneously by ISIS-K would plan to harm our forces, with rockets, suicide explosive vests, and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices,” he said.

“In the 36 hours preceding the strike, our leaders at the airport and within the strike cell received quite 60 different pieces of intelligence associated with imminent threats, with some corroborating and a few conflicting with events observed from our UAVs flying above Kabul throughout the day,” the commander of the US Central Command added.

One of the foremost recurring aspects of the intelligence was that ISIS-K would use a white Toyota Corolla as a key element within the next attack. Since the compound at point favorite was the strongest lead for the series of imminent attacks, intense surveillance of the compound was initiated on the morning of August 29, he said.

Giving an in depth account of the strike, Gen McKenzie said the investigation now concludes that the strike was a tragic mistake.

“First, i will be able to stress, this wasn’t a rushed strike. The strike cell followed and observed this vehicle and its occupants for eight hours while cross-checking what they were seeing with all available intelligence to develop an inexpensive certainty of the approaching threat that this vehicle posed to our forces,” he said.

While the initial reports indicated a secondary explosion, the initial investigation could only conclude that there was a possible to probable presence of external accelerants that would include either explosive material within the vehicle or ignition of the gasoline tank of the vehicle.

Subsequent analysis couldn’t rule out the presence of alittle amount of explosive material but determined that the foremost likely cause was the ignition of gas from a propane tank located immediately behind the car, Gen McKenzie explained.

“While the team conducted the strike did so within the honest belief that they were preventing an imminent attack on our forces and civilian evacuees, we now understand that to be incorrect,” he said.

“I’m here today to line the record straight and acknowledge our mistakes. i will be able to end my remarks with an equivalent note of sincere and profound condolences to the family and friends of these who died during this tragic strike,” Gen McKenzie said, adding the US is exploring the likelihood of optional payments.