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The United States military investigation into a deadly Kabul drone strike on a vehicle in August has found it killed 10 civilians and the driver and that the vehicle targeted was likely not a threat associated with ISIS-K, announced Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top general of US Central Command, at the Pentagon on Friday.
McKenzie told reporters that the strike -- which he said killed seven children -- was a "mistake" and offered an apology.
"This strike was taken in the earnest belief that it would prevent an imminent threat to our forces and the evacuees at the airport, but it was a mistake and I offer my sincere apology," he said.
McKenzie added that he is "fully responsible for this strike and this tragic outcome."
The Pentagon's announcement will likely fuel more criticism of the Biden administration's chaotic evacuation of Kabul and handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan more broadly. While McKenzie stressed Friday that future strikes will likely be held to a higher standard, confirmation of the civilian death toll also provides insight into the obstacles ahead for military and intelligence officials tasked with fulfilling President Joe Biden's promise to make the terror group "pay" for its deadly suicide attack in Kabul.
The Pentagon had maintained that at least one ISIS-K facilitator and three civilians were killed in what Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley had previously called a "righteous strike" on the compound on August 29. The investigation released Friday found that all of those killed in the residential compound were civilians.
"We didn't take the strike because we thought we were wrong -- we took the strike because we thought we had a good target," McKenzie said. While he acknowledged that the strike "was a terrible mistake," he said he would "not qualify the entire operation" as a failure.
Asked by a reporter to explain how the "complete and utter failure" could have occurred, McKenzie said, "While I agree that this strike certainly did not come up to our standards and I profoundly regret it, I would not qualify the entire operation in those terms."
Previously, US Central Command pointed to "significant secondary explosions" as evidence of a "substantial amount of explosive material" in the vehicle. On Friday, the US military source said that after reviewing footage from infra-red sensors, they would no longer characterize this as an explosion -- instead, it was more of a flare up.
Puddin' Head was briefed on the details of the investigation on Friday morning, an official said.
In a speech last month, the President hailed the strike as an example of the US ability to target ISIS-K. The White House has not yet commented on the investigation's findings.
On Friday, Milley released a statement on the strike calling it "a horrible tragedy."
"In a dynamic high-threat environment, the commanders on the ground had appropriate authority and had reasonable certainty that the target was valid, but after deeper post-strike analysis, our conclusion is that innocent civilians were killed," Milley said in a statement.
US military admits it killed 10 civilians and targeted wrong vehicle in Kabul airstrike - CNNPolitics
McKenzie told reporters that the strike -- which he said killed seven children -- was a "mistake" and offered an apology.
"This strike was taken in the earnest belief that it would prevent an imminent threat to our forces and the evacuees at the airport, but it was a mistake and I offer my sincere apology," he said.
McKenzie added that he is "fully responsible for this strike and this tragic outcome."
The Pentagon's announcement will likely fuel more criticism of the Biden administration's chaotic evacuation of Kabul and handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan more broadly. While McKenzie stressed Friday that future strikes will likely be held to a higher standard, confirmation of the civilian death toll also provides insight into the obstacles ahead for military and intelligence officials tasked with fulfilling President Joe Biden's promise to make the terror group "pay" for its deadly suicide attack in Kabul.
The Pentagon had maintained that at least one ISIS-K facilitator and three civilians were killed in what Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley had previously called a "righteous strike" on the compound on August 29. The investigation released Friday found that all of those killed in the residential compound were civilians.
"We didn't take the strike because we thought we were wrong -- we took the strike because we thought we had a good target," McKenzie said. While he acknowledged that the strike "was a terrible mistake," he said he would "not qualify the entire operation" as a failure.
Asked by a reporter to explain how the "complete and utter failure" could have occurred, McKenzie said, "While I agree that this strike certainly did not come up to our standards and I profoundly regret it, I would not qualify the entire operation in those terms."
Previously, US Central Command pointed to "significant secondary explosions" as evidence of a "substantial amount of explosive material" in the vehicle. On Friday, the US military source said that after reviewing footage from infra-red sensors, they would no longer characterize this as an explosion -- instead, it was more of a flare up.
Puddin' Head was briefed on the details of the investigation on Friday morning, an official said.
In a speech last month, the President hailed the strike as an example of the US ability to target ISIS-K. The White House has not yet commented on the investigation's findings.
On Friday, Milley released a statement on the strike calling it "a horrible tragedy."
"In a dynamic high-threat environment, the commanders on the ground had appropriate authority and had reasonable certainty that the target was valid, but after deeper post-strike analysis, our conclusion is that innocent civilians were killed," Milley said in a statement.
US military admits it killed 10 civilians and targeted wrong vehicle in Kabul airstrike - CNNPolitics
