Pentagon Not To Punish US Troops Involved In Fatal Kabul Strike

By Staff, Agencies

The US War Department is not punishing any of the US military members involved in the fatal attack that killed civilians in the Afghan capital earlier this year.

The Pentagon said Monday that no US military personnel would be held accountable for a drone strike in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, in August.

An earlier investigation by Lt. Gen. Sami D. Said, the US Air Force inspector general, said the August 29 strike was the result of execution errors, interpreting information that supported certain viewpoints, and communication breakdowns.

The military previously called the strike a “tragic mistake.”

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that senior commanders made a number of recommendations to War Secretary Lloyd Austin regarding the incident, none of which included accountability measures.

"I do not anticipate there being issues of personal accountability to be had," Kirby said.

Kirby further noted the high threat level facing US forces following a deadly bombing outside the Kabul airport that killed 13 troops, which he said was important context.

"In this case, in the context of this particular strike... there was not a strong enough case to be made for personal accountability," he said, Reuters reported.

The Pentagon claimed it is working to offer condolence payments and relocation to the family of those killed in the strike, while it is still in talks with an aid organization that employed one of the victims.