The US Defense Department said it would make condolence payments to the families of the 10 people killed in a US drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan in August. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the issue came up on Thursday during a meeting between Dr. Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, and Dr. Steven Kwon, founder and president of the nonprofit group Nutrition & Education International. Kirby also said that the Defense Department would help the family members of those killed to relocate to the US.
Ten members of one extended family, including seven children, were killed in the Aug. 29 attack in a residential neighborhood. The US military said at the time that it had targeted an Islamic State operative planning to carry out an attack as the withdrawal of US and other foreign troops from Afghanistan was coming to an end. An investigation showed that the target of the attack, Zemari Ahmadi, worked for the Nutrition & Education International aid organization.
Kahl, through Kirby, again apologized for the error and loss of life. He did not say how much the payments, known as “ex-gratia condolence payments,” would be.