Nearly two months after botched U.S. drone strike took the lives of 10 civilians in Kabul, the U.S. has pledged to pay the family of the victims.
According to a Friday (Oct. 15) report from The Los Angeles Times, the Pentagon announced that the U.S. is working with the State Department to relocate the surviving family members of the 10 civilians killed in the drone strike. They are also looking to make condolence payments to then. The drone strike, which took place on Aug. 29, were the result of the U.S. trying to take down ISIS members just before leaving Afghanistan for good. One of the civilian victims of the strike was Zemari Ahmadi, whom the U.S. suspected of being in ISIS.
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin H. Kahl and Nutrition & Education International founder Steven Kwon discussed the payments in a Thursday virtual meeting. Ahmadi worked at Kwon’s organization.
In a statement, the Defense Department’s chief spokesman, John Kirby, spoke on the matter. “Dr. Kahl noted that the strike was a tragic mistake and that Mr. Zemari Ahmadi and others who were killed were innocent victims who bore no blame and were not affiliated with ISIS-K or threats to U.S. forces,” he wrote.
Though specific payments weren’t discussed in a meeting that was held Thursday, those things will be talked about in the future. The State Department, lawyers and the aid organization will discuss the terms, and Congress will allow payments of up to $3 million per year.
This news surfaces after Ahmadi’s brother Emal Ahmadi told The Times that he had yet to receive an apology or any compensation from the U.S. government following the death of his brother. Now, Emal says that he’s happy to hear the news and that he feels his brother’s work with the aid organization led the Taliban to target the,.
“I have no words,” he said. “We are always in danger since the Taliban took rule of the country.”