How US botched Kabul drone strike
America killed 10 innocent civilians, including 7 children, with Hellfire missile
US military officials have insisted since the last American troops withdrew from Afghanistan last month that they would be able to detect and attack Daesh or Al Qaida threats in the country from afar.
But an errant drone strike that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, in Kabul on Aug. 29 calls into question the reliability of the intelligence that will be used to conduct the operations.
“The US has a terrible record in this regard, and after decades of failed accountability, in the context of the end of the war in Afghanistan, the US should acknowledge that their processes have failed, and that vital reforms and more independent outside scrutiny is vital,” John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch said.
Monitoring suspect
On the morning of Aug. 29, the military was on alert, looking out for a white Toyota Corolla as six Reaper drones monitored what McKenzie called a suspected Daesh safe house, both believed to be linked to the plot. Just before 9am, Zemari Ahmadi, a longtime worker for a US aid group, wheeled his white 1996 Toyota Corolla in front of the safe house the Americans were watching. Two men got out of the car, met with another man at the safe house, took a bag from him and returned to the car. Ahmadi drove off.
Eight hours later, a Hellfire missile slammed into the sedan, killing Ahmadi and nine other people in what US officials now acknowledge was a tragic case of mistaken identity. “Clearly our intelligence was wrong on this particular white Toyota Corolla,” McKenzie told reporters Friday. “We thought this was a good lead. We were wrong.” The strike against a white Toyota believed to be carrying explosives was launched, McKenzie said, “in the profound belief” that Daesh-K, was about to attack the airport, as the terrorist group had done three days earlier, killing more than 140 people, including 13 US service members.