US Department of Defense: Soldiers Who Carried Out 'Drone Friendly Fire' During Afghanistan Withdrawal Will Not Be Punished

10 Civilians Including 7 Children Dead... "Tragic Mistake"
"Unjust Act, Operational Error Not Negligence... Punishment Impossible"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Regarding the drone strike accident in Kabul last August during the U.S. military's withdrawal operation from Afghanistan, which killed 10 civilians including children, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it has decided not to punish any of the soldiers involved.

On the 13th (local time), according to the political news outlet The Hill, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that he accepted the recommendations of U.S. Central Command Commander Kenneth McKenzie and Special Operations Commander Richard Clarke, deciding not to punish those involved in the drone strike in Kabul.

John Kirby, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, stated at a briefing that "neither commander recommended holding anyone accountable," adding, "The recommendations mostly concerned procedures and processes, and Secretary Austin reviewed and accepted them." He emphasized, "Most of the recommendations were classified matters," and "There was no explicit mention of responsibility or punishment for anyone."

Earlier, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that 10 civilians, including seven children, died in the strike amid the chaos caused by the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in September, acknowledging it as a "tragic mistake." Following the release of the investigation results last month, it concluded that such operational errors were not due to misconduct or negligence and therefore did not warrant disciplinary action, which sparked controversy.

According to The Hill, just before the strike, U.S. Department of Defense officials argued that bombing using drones was necessary to prevent the Islamic State (IS) from attacking U.S. forces at Kabul airport. At that time, U.S. Central Command judged that a small passenger car driven by a civilian named Zemari Ahmadi, who had worked at the U.S. base for a long time, was carrying a bomb loaded by an IS-K (Islamic State Khorasan Province) operative and was moving, leading to the bombing.

After the strike, the U.S. Department of Defense conducted investigations involving senior officials but acknowledged only that the actions were in accordance with the rules of engagement and that there were just a few execution errors before the bombing order was given.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.