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A defence official revealed the August 29 drone strike on an ISIS-K operative actually killed an aid worker and 9 members of his family, including 7 children. The strike was in response to a terror attack on Kabul airport on August 26, which killed at least 182 people.
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In a press conference at the Pentagon, Command General Kenneth McKenzie explained the error
Intelligence “indicated” ISIS-K operatives were unloading a “corolla” in front of a compound.
US intelligence assessed the Corolla “contained explosives”, and drove between points illustrated on a map in the conference.
At 4:39pm, the vehicle dropped off a passenger, then drove to its final destination three kilometres from the airport.
The US was “concerned” the vehicle “could move quickly” towards the airport, and was struck shortly before 5pm.
A “single hellfire missile” was fired in a way “to minimise civilian casualties”, but at 4:53pm it exploded “in a way” not typical for the explosive.
Gen. McKenzie said the explosion was akin to a ‘massive fireball”, and suggested the “most likely” cause for the larger blast was the vehicle’s oil tank.
The official admitted: “Our investigation now concludes this strike was a tragic mistake.”
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