US drone strike in Afghanistan, allegedly mistakenly targets humanitarian workers
An analysis of the video suggests the United States may have mistakenly targeted a humanitarian worker in its latest attack in Afghanistan that killed 10 civilians. The US has previously claimed its drone strikes targeted the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants.
As quoted by AFP, Saturday (11/9/2021), the Pentagon said it had foiled the latest planned attack by "ISIS" through the Reaper drone attack August 29, 2021, one day before the US ended their mission in Afghanistan and after a suicide bombing killed hundreds of people. people at Kabul airport.
But a Kabul resident named Aimal Ahmadi told AFP that a US drone strike killed 10 civilians, his daughter, nephew and brother Ezmarai Ahmadi were also victims.
Aimal Ahmadi said that Ezmarai was driving the car that was hit by the US drone after it was parked near his home at the time.
Ezmarai is an electrical engineer for the humanitarian and lobby group, Nutrition and Education International, based in California, USA. According to his relatives, Ezmarai is part of a group of thousands of Afghans who are applying for resettlement in the US.
US officials said the larger explosion occurred after the drone strike, which suggested explosives were inside the targeted vehicle.
But the NYT investigation said there was no evidence of a second explosion, with only one dent visible near the house gate and no obvious signs of additional explosions such as a broken wall.
Aimal told AFP earlier that 10 civilians were killed in a US drone strike last month. US officials acknowledged the three civilian casualties, but argued that the drone strike prevented another deadly attack.
Commenting on the NYT report, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said US Central Command "continues to assess" the drone strike, but stressed "no other military has worked harder than we do to prevent civilian casualties".
"As Chief (Mark) Milley said, the attack was based on good intelligence, and still believes it prevented an imminent threat to the airport and to personnel still on duty at the airport," Kirby said, referring to the US general.
In its report, the NYT also emphasized that the next morning's rocket attack in Afghanistan, claimed by ISIS, was launched from a car of the same brand -- a Toyota Corolla -- as the vehicle belonging to Ezmarai that was the target of the US drone strike.
More than 71,000 Afghan and Pakistani civilians have died directly in the war launched by the US since the September 11, 2001 attacks, with the death toll rising dramatically after former President Donald Trump relaxed rules of engagement in 2017, according to a Brown University study in April.