US investigation
Air raid in Kabul allegedly not a violation of martial law
The damage to the home of the Ahmadi family after a US drone attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo: Khwaja Tawfiq Sediqi / AP / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Ten innocent people were killed in the drone attack in Kabul, the Pentagon admits a mistake. However, there is no violation of martial law.
According to an internal investigation by the US armed forces, the US armed forces did not violate any applicable law during the US drone attack with numerous civilian casualties in Kabul at the end of August.
“The investigation did not reveal any violation of the law, including martial law,” said the Defense Ministry on Wednesday. “Errors in execution combined with confirmation errors and communication glitches resulted in unfortunate casualties among the civilian population.” In the air strike in the Afghan capital shortly before the last US soldiers left, three Afghan men and seven children were killed.
“It was a regrettable mistake,” said Air Force General Sami Said, who led the investigation. “I understand the consequences, but it wasn’t criminal behavior.” Said admitted that the investigation into the incident revealed that the presence of a child was evident near the target two minutes before the missile was launched. The soldiers in charge did not see any children there at the time. “Those involved in the attack who were interviewed as part of this investigation really believed at the time that they were targeting an imminent threat to US forces.”
The US operation targeted a car suspected of being explosive. According to Said, the car was parked in a civilian area around three kilometers from the airport at the time of the drone attack. Said asked for understanding for the soldiers involved in the air strike. They were under enormous pressure because intelligence information indicated an impending attack. Just three days earlier, 13 US soldiers and dozen Afghans had been killed in an attack by the Islamic State terrorist group at Kabul airport.