US investigates civilian deaths in Kabul strike

US investigates civilian deaths in Kabul strike
# 30 August 2021 23:58 (UTC +04:00)

A US drone strike near Kabul airport ended up killing 10 members of one family, including six children, surviving relatives have told the BBC, APA reports.

The 10 were killed when a car parked at their home was struck by an explosion on Sunday.

The US military said it was targeting a vehicle carrying at least one person associated with the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group.

It said people nearby may have been hit in the aftermath of the strike.

The youngest child to be killed was two-year-old Sumaya, and the oldest child was 12-year-old Farzad, the family said.

"It's wrong, it's a brutal attack, and it's happened based on wrong information," Ramin Yousufi, a relative of the victims, told the BBC.

He added, tearfully: "Why have they killed our family? Our children? They are so burned out we cannot identify their bodies, their faces."

Another relative, Emal Ahmadi, told the BBC that it was his two-year-old daughter who was killed in the strike.

Mr Ahmadi said he and others in the family had applied for evacuation to the US, and had been waiting for a phone call telling them to go to the airport.

That included one of his relatives, Ahmad Naser, who was killed in the strike and had previously worked as a translator with US forces. Other victims had previously worked for international organisations and held visas allowing them entry to the US.

The US, Mr Ahmadi added, had made "a mistake, it was a big mistake".

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THE OPERATION IS BEING PERFORMED