No US troops to be punished over deadly Kabul drone strike

A drone flies over the airport in Kabul on August 31, 2021, the final day of the US-led evacuation after the Taliban took control of the country

The Pentagon said Monday that no US troops or officials would face disciplinary action for a drone strike in Kabul in August that killed 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children.

Spokesman John Kirby said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had received a high-level review of the strike that made no recommendation of accountability.

"There was not a strong enough case to be made for personal accountability," Kirby added.

US officials said they had intelligence of a possible Islamic State attack on the evacuation operations at Kabul airport, and launched a missile from a drone at a target that was thought to be a car laden with munitions.

In early November, an initial report carried out by the US Air Force inspector general, Lieutenant General Sami Said, called the strike tragic but "an honest mistake." 

But it made no call for anyone to be punished for the mistake.

If Austin "believed... that accountability was warranted, he would certainly support those kinds of efforts," Kirby added.

The strike killed Zemari Ahmadi, an employee of US-based Nutrition and Education International, and nine members of his family.

The Pentagon promised to pay compensation and also to help relocate abroad family members and Afghans working for NEI, but that remains stuck on determining just who is qualified, according to officials.

"We are working very hard with him and his organization to effect the relocation of the family members," Kirby said.

Kirby, meanwhile, refused to comment on a New York Times story Monday that detailed a secret US military unit that launched drone strikes on Islamic state targets in Syria and had a callous attitude toward civilian deaths.

"When we say we take it seriously, we mean it. It doesn't mean we're perfect. It doesn't mean we always get it right," he said.

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