These initiatives are part of commitments by the local firms to support the UAE community in times of crisis
The United States said Friday it has offered to pay unspecified compensation to relatives of 10 people in Afghanistan including seven children who were killed by mistake in a US drone strike as American forces were completing their withdrawal.
In a statement the Pentagon also said it was working with the State Department to relocate to the United States any of those relatives who wish to leave Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
The offer to pay these people was made Thursday in a meeting between Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defence for policy, and Steven Kwon, the founder and president of an aid group active in Afghanistan called Nutrition and Education International, the Pentagon said in a statement.
That organization employed Ezmarai Ahmadi, who was wrongly identified as a Daesh militant by US intelligence on August 29 during the final days of the chaotic US evacuation from Kabul.
US intelligence tracked his white Toyota for eight hours before targeting the car with a missile, killing seven children and three adults, including Ahmadi.
US Central Command commander General Kenneth McKenzie said at the time that American intelligence had seen the vehicle at a site in Kabul that had been identified as a location from which Daesh operatives were believed to be preparing attacks on the Kabul airport.
Three days earlier, a Daesh-Khorasan suicide bomber had killed scores at the airport, including 13 US service members.
But last month, US officials conceded the drone attack was an error.
In the meeting Thursday, “Dr Kahl noted that the strike was a tragic mistake and that Mr Ezmarai Ahmadi and others who were killed were innocent victims who bore no blame and were not affiliated with (Daesh)-K or threats to US forces,” said a statement attributed to Defense Department spokesman John Kirby.
“Dr Kahl reiterated Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s commitment to the families, including offering ex gratia condolence payments,” he added without saying how much money was offered.
ALSO READ:
>> Taliban condemn US drone attack, prepare to set up new Afghan government
>> US fallout over Kabul drone strike grows, plans for multiple probes
Last month relatives of the people killed in the attack demanded compensation and a face to face apology.
Austin has apologized for the botched attack. However, Ahmadi’s 22-year-old nephew Farshad Haidari said that was not enough.
“They must come here and apologize to us face-to-face,” he told AFP in a bombed-out, modest house in Kwaja Burga, a densely populated neighbourhood in Kabul.
Haidari, whose brother Naser and young cousins also died in the blast, said on September 18 that the US had made no direct contact with the family.
In the meeting Thursday NEI chief Kwon spoke of how Ahmadi worked with that aid organization “over many years, providing care and lifesaving assistance for people facing high mortality rates in Afghanistan.”
These initiatives are part of commitments by the local firms to support the UAE community in times of crisis
Though some employers were considerate enough to allow employees to work from home, some have asked staff to report to work now
It is a tale of love and dedication scripted in the heart of Abu Dhabi
The event brought together key players in the polo community to celebrate a successful season and honour outstanding achievements
In the first two days after the torrential rain on Tuesday, around 1,244 flights were cancelled
There has been fear that decades of enmity between the two could spill over into all-out war
The leading hypermarket chain has implemented additional measures to ensure sufficient stock availability for shoppers
Thousands of personnel deployed to clear accumulated water, clogged drains, and fallen trees