US Commits to Condolence Payments for Family of 10 Civilians Killed in Botched Kabul Drone Strike

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, admitted last month that the US made a "tragic mistake" when it fired a Hellfire missile at a white Toyota sedan driven by Zemeai Ahmadi in Kabul, Afghanistan. A total of 10 members of the Ahmadi family were killed in the August 29 strike.

The US Department of Defense has has committed to offering cash condolence payments to relatives of the 10 individuals killed in a US drone strike that Pentagon officials say was supposed to target Daesh-K* or other hostile forces.

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby made the offers of unspecified amounts known in a late Friday evening statement.

The offers were extended during a virtual meeting on Thursday between Colin Kahl, under secretary of defense for policy, and Steven Kwon, founder of an aid organization that employed the driver of the sedan struck on August 29.

"Dr. Kahl noted that the strike was a tragic mistake and that Mr. Zemari Ahmadi and others who were killed were innocent victims who bore no blame and were not affiliated with ISIS-K or threats to U.S. forces," Kirby said in his Friday statement.

Kirby noted that Pentagon is also working closely with the State Department to assist in efforts to relocate surviving members of the Ahmadi family to the US.

*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.