(Washington) The United States has offered to financially compensate relatives of Afghan civilians “mistakenly” killed in an American drone strike in Kabul in late August, the Pentagon spokesman said on Friday.
During a virtual meeting between Steven Kwon, president of the NGO which employed one of the victims, Ezmarai Ahmadi, and Colin Kahl, undersecretary for defense policies, the latter proposed “financial compensation” for the families. John Kirby said in a statement.
The amount of this compensation has not been specified.
The American official also offered to help “the members of the family of Mr. Ahmadi who would like to settle in the United States”.
Colin Kahl stressed that “the strike was a tragic mistake, and Ezmarai Ahmadi and those who were killed were innocent victims who had nothing to be ashamed of and were not affiliated with IS-K or threats to US forces ”.
On August 29, the United States destroyed a white Toyota Corolla vehicle, claiming it was “loaded with explosives” and thus claiming to have foiled an attempted bombing by the local branch of the Islamic State, ISIS. -K, a few days after an attack by this group which killed 13 American soldiers and a hundred Afghans near the Kabul airport.
According to General McKenzie, who led US forces in Afghanistan prior to their withdrawal from the country, a car of this model parked that morning near a building that was already considered a hideout for IS-K. .
The next day, the family of the driver of the vehicle, Ezmarai Ahmadi, reported that he was employed by an NGO and that ten people, including up to seven children, had been killed.
“My brother and his four children were killed. I lost my granddaughter, nephews and nieces, ”Aimal Ahmadi, Ezmarai’s brother, told AFP.
A thorough investigation of New York Times, based on surveillance camera footage and interviews, also challenged the army’s version.
On September 17, the army admitted that the strike was “a tragic mistake”. Contrary to the army’s initial claims, the “explosives” were likely nothing more than harmless water cans and the driver of the vehicle, a peaceful father, was not a jihadist, according to an investigation.
US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin offered his “sincere condolences” and “apologies” for this blunder.
Relatives of Afghan civilians killed in the strike had then deemed “insufficient” the apologies offered by Washington.
Over 71,000 Afghan and Pakistani civilians have been killed during the 20-year war in Afghanistan.