Those involved in the botched airstrike that killed 10 Afghan civilians over the summer will not face disciplinary action, the Associated Press reports.
The outlet writes that an internal review conducted by Air Force Lt. Gen. Sami Said found no evidence of negligence or misconduct in the deadly Aug. 29 attack in Kabul.
An anonymous official told the AP that the Pentagon determined there was clear miscommunication in the events leading up to the strike, which erroneously targeted longtime U.S. aid worker Zemari Ahmadi and his family.
The news comes just months after the U.S. military acknowledged it made a “tragic mistake” when commanders misidentified Ahmadi as an ISIS-K affiliate who traveling in Kabul. U.S. officials said military personnel observed the 40-year-old engineer loading and transporting heavy items into his truck throughout the day, which included an alleged ISIS safe house located just several miles from the Kabul airport.
As Ahmadi pulled up to his home to greet his family, a tactical commander ordered the launch of a single Hellfire missile on his truck, killing him and nine others, including seven children. Following the attack, U.S. officials defended the action, insisting no civilians were harmed by the launch; upon further review, investigators found Ahmadi was not connected to any terrorist organization and that the items he was loading into his vehicle were cans of water.
“I am now convinced that as many as 10 civilians, including up to seven children, were tragically killed in that strike,” Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said in a statement in September. “Moreover, we now assess that it is unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were associated with ISIS-K or were a direct threat to US forces. I offer my profound condolences to the family and friends of those who were killed. This strike was taken in the earnest belief that it would prevent an imminent threat to our forces and the evacuees at the airport, but it was a mistake, and I offer my sincere apology.”
Said explained Wednesday that the incident did not violate the rules of warfare, but shed more light on “issues like confirmation bias.”
“When you go, ‘That is a suspicious person,’ every activity they take thereafter, you start seeing it through that lens,” Said said, per the Washington Post.
