Washington’s apology was not enough, says one survivor whose 3-year-old daughter was among the seven children killed in the Aug. 29 attack.
KABUL, Afghanistan — A survivor of an errant U.S. drone strike that killed 10 members of his family demanded Saturday that those responsible be punished and said Washington’s apology was not enough. The family also seeks financial compensation and relocation to the United States or another country deemed safe, said Emal Ahmadi, whose 3-year-old daughter Malika was among those killed in the Aug.29 strike. On that day, a U.S. hellfire missile struck the car that Ahmadi’s brother Zemerai had just pulled into the driveway of the Ahmadi family compound as children ran to greet him. In all,10 members of the family, including seven children, were killed in the strike. On Friday, U.S. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, called the strike a “tragic mistake” and said that innocent civilians were indeed killed in the attack. The U.S. military initially defended the strike, saying it had targeted an Islamic State group’s “facilitator” and disrupted the militants’ ability to carry out attacks during the chaotic final stage of the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan late last month. Discrepancies between the military’s portrayal of the strike and findings on the ground quickly emerged. The Associated Press and other news organizations reported that the driver of the targeted vehicle was a longtime employee at a U.S. humanitarian organization. There were no signs of a large secondary blast, despite the Pentagon’s assertion that the vehicle contained explosives. The drone strike followed a devastating suicide bombing by IS – a rival of the Taliban – that killed 169 Afghans and 13 U.
