Afghanistan: US offers financial compensation for those killed in Kabul drone strike
The United States has offered financial compensation for killing 10 members of a family in a "tragic mistake" in a drone strike in Afghanistan.
A drone strike in Kabul killed a aid worker and nine members of his family before a full US withdrawal in late August this year. They included seven children.
The Pentagon has said it is working to relocate the rest of the family to the United States.
A few days after the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, the so-called Islamic State of Khurasan, a militant group, carried out a horrific attack near Kabul Airport.''The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a U.S.'' military base.
Gen. Kenneth Mackenzie of the U.S. Central Command said last month that on August 29, U.S. intelligence agencies traced the aid worker's vehicle for eight hours. He was thought to be linked to a local Islamic State group in Afghanistan.
The investigation revealed that the man's car was parked near a compound connected to the Islamic State of Khurasan. Reports received by US intelligence warned of further attacks on Kabul airport.
The video from the drone showed the man loading something similar to an explosive device into the vehicle. But later it was found out that there was water in these containers.
General Mackenzie called the drone strike a "tragic mistake" and said the Taliban were not part of the intelligence.
Rescue workers entered their home near Zamiri Ahmadi Airport when they were attacked by a drone.
''The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a U.S.'' military base. However, investigations revealed that the blast was caused by an explosion of a cylinder near the vehicle.
One of the dead, Ahmed Nasir, worked as a translator for the US military. There were also people who had worked with international organizations in the past and had visas to enter the United States.
Offer of compensation
The Pentagon said in a statement that the compensation was offered on Thursday. This was discussed during a meeting between Secretary of Defense Policy Callen and Steven Vaughan, President of the Nutrition and Education International, an aid organization in Afghanistan.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said in a statement that Colin Call had said in a statement that Mr Ahmadi and others had been "innocent civilians". He was linked to Islamic State of Khurasan and was not a threat to US forces.
He reiterated Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's pledge to include "condolences" for the family.
''Austin has apologized for the attack, but Ahmadi's nephew Farshad Haidari, 22, said the apology was insufficient''.
"They have to come here and apologize to us," he told AFP in Kabul.
With the beginning of the US withdrawal in Afghanistan, the Taliban soon began to gain control of key areas of the country. Then, in just two weeks, on August 15, he took power in Kabul.
This accelerated the evacuation of the United States and its allies and civilians. Thousands were trying to flee the country. Many of them were foreigners or Afghan nationals working with foreign governments.
The security situation had worsened after the Islamic State of Khorasan attack on Kabul Airport. A suicide bomber on August 26 killed 170 civilians and 13 U.S. soldiers outside the airport.
Many of the dead were expected to travel on evacuation flights in the next few days.
The last US troops to leave Afghanistan on August 31 under President Joe Biden's deadline set for the US withdrawal.
Earlier, 124,000 foreigners and Afghans were relocated to other countries. But some people could not leave Afghanistan on time while the process of disintegration is still going on.