Families of Kabul drone attack victims ask US to admit to ‘war crime’

Family members of 10 civilians killed by a US drone strike in the Afghan capital Kabul last month have rejected Washington’s condolences and apologies, calling the attack a “war crime” and demanding justice under international law, reports Anadolu Agency.

“How can this [US apology] be accepted?” said Romal Ahmadi, who lost all three of his children as well as his brother told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.

Zamari Ahmadi, the Afghan man killed in a US drone strike in Kabul was a beloved longtime employee at an American humanitarian organisation and not a Daesh militant as claimed by the Pentagon, his colleagues say.

This is unacceptable to us,” Ahmadi’s uncle Mohammad Nasim said, asking the US to “acknowledge it as a war crime.”

On Friday, the US apologised for what it called a “tragic mistake”.

The US had earlier said the August 29 strike targeted a Daesh-K suicide bomber who posed an imminent threat to US-led troops at the airport as they completed the last stages of their withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Even as reports of civilian casualties emerged immediately, US described the drone attack as “righteous”.

TRT World reported that the families of the victims killed in the strike said Washington is yet to approach them since the drone attack.

“Those who were lost cannot come back, and accepting the mistake cannot be accepted,” Nasim said.

Ahmadi’s brother Aimal, whose three-year-old daughter Maleka died in the attack, said “America must compensate.”