A relative of Ezmarai Ahmadi looks at the courtyard of Ahmadi's house that was damaged in a US drone strike in the Kwaja Burga neighborhood of Kabul on Sept 18, 2021. Ezmarai Ahmadi was wrongly identified as an Islamic State militant by US intelligence, who tracked his white Toyota for eight hours on Aug 29 before targeting the car, killing seven children and three adults. (HOSHANG HASHIMI / AFP)
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon said on Monday that no US military personnel would be held accountable for an August drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians, including seven children.
An earlier investigation by the Air Force inspector general said the Aug 29 strike was caused by execution errors, interpreting information that supported certain viewpoints, and communication breakdowns. The military previously called the strike a "tragic mistake".
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In this case, in the context of this particular strike…there was not a strong enough case to be made for personal accountability.
John Kirby, Spokesman, Pentagon
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that senior commanders had made a number of recommendations to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the incident, none of which included any accountability measures for specific personnel.
Austin accepted the recommendations, Kirby said.
"I do not anticipate there being issues of personal accountability to be had," he added.
Kirby noted the high level of the threat facing US forces following a deadly bombing outside the Kabul airport that killed 13 troops, context that he said was important.
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"In this case, in the context of this particular strike…there was not a strong enough case to be made for personal accountability."
A relative of Ezmarai Ahmadi looks at the courtyard of Ahmadi's house that was damaged in a US drone strike in the Kwaja Burga neighborhood of Kabul on Sept 18, 2021. (HOSHANG HASHIMI / AFP)
While the Pentagon has said it is working to offer condolence payments and relocation to the family of Afghans killed in the strike, it is still in talks with an aid organization that employed one of the victims.