Washington – September 18 (Online): A top US General has apologized for ‘mistakenly’ killing ten innocent Afghan civilians, media reported revealed Saturday.
According to details, US had launched a drone strike against suspected Islamic State militants in Kabul, killing 10 civilians including children instead during the frenzied final days of the US pullout from Afghanistan last month.
The strike, a macabre coda to the 20-year US war in Afghanistan, was meant to target a suspected IS operation that US intelligence had “reasonable certainty” aimed to attack the Kabul airport, said US Central Command commander General Kenneth McKenzie.
“The strike was a tragic mistake,” McKenzie told reporters after an investigation.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin apologized to the relatives of those killed in a statement.
“I offer my deepest condolences to surviving family members of those who were killed,” Austin said in a statement.
“We apologize, and we will endeavor to learn from this horrible mistake,” he said.
McKenzie said the government was studying on how payments for damages could be made to the families of those killed.
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