CMG Reporter Obaidullah Musaferzada revisited the residence in Kabul city that was attacked by the U.S. military on January 20. The gate of the residence was closed, and above it hung photos of 10 victims, comprising mostly of children.
Photos of the victims of the U.S. airstrike in Kabul on August 29.
Photos of the victims of the U.S. airstrike in Kabul on August 29.
After contacting relatives of the victims, Obaidulla learned that they no longer lived in the house and moved to Kapisa province, northeast of Kabul. After obtaining the consent of the victim's family, the reporter interviewed them over the phone. The victim's brother Emar said he had seen the video released by the U.S. military.
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The video released by the U.S. military of a drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children, had scenes of the ill-fated house. The Pentagon initially claimed they were targeting extremist group members, but three weeks later, the U.S. military admitted civilians were killed in the airstrikes. Until now, no one has been held accountable for what they termed the incident a "tragic mistake."
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The Pentagon said last September that the airstrike was a "tragic mistake" and it would not penalize any of the military personnel involved, it said in December.
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The video released by the U.S. military was filmed by two drones for 25 minutes, which recorded the whole process before and after the airstrike. It shows the target vehicle entering a courtyard in a residential area surrounded by walls. Vague figures were walking around in the courtyard, and children walking on the street outside the fence. Subsequently, the "Hellfire" missile instantly turned the courtyard into a sea of fire, and residents poured water into the courtyard from the rooftop.
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The victim’s brother, Emar, said that the U.S. military called its strikes against civilians a "mistake," but no one was ever punished. Emar said angrily that what the U.S. military did was an act of war crime.
The U.S. military carried out bombing missions in densely populated Kabul residential areas based on these images, killing innocent civilians. Afghan people said that in Kabul and other provinces of Afghanistan, many innocent people were killed by the U.S. military and they never issued even a single apology for their barbaric act.
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