No punishment for US troops involved in deadly Kabul strike

The Pentagon said on Monday that no US military personnel would be held accountable for an August drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians, including seven children.

An earlier investigation by the Air Force inspector general said the August 29 strike was caused by 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 had made a number of recommendations to Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin about the incident, none of which included any accountability measures for specific personnel.

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Austin accepted the recommendations, Kirby said.

“I do not anticipate there being issues of personal accountability to be had,” he added.

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

“In this case, in the context of this particular strike ... there was not a strong enough case to be made for personal accountability.”

While the Pentagon has said it is working to offer condolence payments and relocation to the family of Afghans killed in the strike, it is still in talks with an aid organisation that employed one of the victims.

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