In the August 29 airstrike in Kabul by the United States, it was not a terrorist that could be killed by mistake, but an employee of an American NGO who sought asylum in the United States.
This is reported by the New York Times.
According to RIA Novosti, at the end of August, 13 American soldiers and dozens of local residents were killed in an explosion at the airport in Kabul, through which people were being evacuated. The United States blamed the Islamic State – Vilayat Khorasan* group for the attack and killed two of its members with a drone strike. According to the Pentagon, the car destroyed by the drone was carrying large quantities of explosives and posed an immediate threat to the Kabul airport.
Later, CNN reported that the strike killed nine civilians, including six children. At the same time, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the US military does not doubt the correctness of the chosen target. Washington did not comment on the information about the death of civilians.
The publication questioned the Pentagon’s version, citing video evidence and interviews with colleagues of the deceased driver, as well as with members of his family in Kabul. According to the NYT, the killed driver was Zemari Ahmadi, a longtime associate of the US aid group, who was driving his car on business on the day of the strike.
“While the US military has recognized only three civilian casualties, Ahmadi’s relatives say that 10 members of his family, including seven children, were killed in the strike,” the newspaper writes.
Ahmadi, according to the publication, worked as an engineer for a California company and, together with his family, sought asylum in the United States, awaiting a decision.
The journalists restored the picture of that day: in the morning Ahmadi was called by the chief and asked to bring him a laptop. He went by car on business; the military believed that his white sedan had driven out of the house, which was considered a refuge for the militants. All day, according to the newspaper, a drone circled over the car. The relatives of the deceased, in an interview with journalists of the publication, denied his connection with the terrorists, and what the military considered suspicious actions was the routine of his working day.
The NYT also writes that Ahmadi did not load a bomb into the car, but cans of water to take to the family.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, commenting on the New York Times information to RIA Novosti, said the airstrike was carried out on the basis of “good intelligence” and helped to prevent a threat to the airport. At the same time, he acknowledged that the impact assessment has not yet been completed.
*-A terrorist organization banned in Russia