Kabul strike: ‘U.S. troops to face no action’

The Taliban urged Washington to reverse the decision

Afghan residents and family members of the victims gather next to a damaged vehicle inside a house after a U.S. drone airstrike in Kabul. File

The Pentagon said on Monday that no U.S. troops or officials would face disciplinary action for a drone strike in Kabul in August that killed 10 civilians, including seven children.

Spokesman John Kirby said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had received a high-level review of the strike that made no recommendation of accountability. “There was not a strong enough case to be made for personal accountability,” Mr. Kirby said.

Aimal Ahmadi, 32,

who lost his three-year-old daughter, his brother and six nephews and nieces in the strike, expressed anger at the decision on Tuesday.

“God will take revenge,” Mr. Ahmadi said, adding “what if the US had lost a child? What would the reaction have been?”

The Taliban urged Washington to reverse the decision, with a spokesman saying the U.S. should “punish the culprits and compensate the victims”.

The August 29

drone strike took place in the final days of the U.S.-led evacuation of Kabul after the Taliban seized control of the country.