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Video of mistaken U.S. drone strike on Kabul home made public
The U.S. Central Command on Wednesday released declassified videos from a botched U.S. drone attack that killed 10 civilians in Afghanistan in August, in the final days before American troops withdrew from the country.
The release of the videos came after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by The New York Times, Reuters reported.
It comes after the Pentagon said in December that no U.S. military personnel would be held accountable for the drone strike.
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.”
The Pentagon had said earlier that the strike targeted an Islamic State (Daesh ) suicide bomber who posed an imminent threat to U.S.-led troops at the airport, as they completed the last stages of their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
However, reports emerged almost immediately that the drone strike in a neighborhood west of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport had killed civilians including children. Video from the scene at the time showed the wreckage of a car strewn around the courtyard of a building.
The strike came three days after an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. troops and scores of Afghan civilians who had crowded outside the airport gates, desperate to secure seats on evacuation flights, after U.S.-trained Afghan forces melted away and the former government collapsed.
The Ministry of Interior has announced the delivery of several new, modern cars to the General Directorate of Traffic Police, replacing the older fleet that consisted mostly of trucks.
According to a ministry statement, the new vehicles, equipped with special traffic police colors, markings, and modern equipment, are expected to play a key role in maintaining traffic order in cities and on main roads, preventing accidents, and providing faster services to the public.
Azerbaijan has released 14 Afghan nationals from its prisons, Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.
The ministry said in a statement that the release happened following efforts by Afghanistan’s embassy in Baku.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its appreciation to Azerbaijan and relevant authorities for their cooperation and humanitarian action. It also reaffirmed that the IEA will continue to follow up on and resolve the cases of Afghan prisoners.
Former U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, says Washington is largely satisfied with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) efforts against terrorism, though progress in broader relations remains hindered by the issue of prisoners.
In an interview with NDTV, Khalilzad said the United States views the detention of at least two American citizens in Afghanistan as the primary obstacle to improving ties.
Khalilzad highlighted what he described as a “significant degree of satisfaction” in the U.S. assessment of the IEA’s counterterrorism commitments under the Doha Agreement. He said the IEA continue to fight Daesh, a group they have long considered an enemy. Many Daesh militants, he added, have been pushed out of Afghanistan and are now in Pakistan.
At the same time, Khalilzad said concerns remain regarding human rights and the political role of non-IEA Afghans.
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