The US military is investigating whether there have been any civilian casualties in the drone attack it carried out in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday. At least ten civilians were killed in the US airstrike over the weekend, according to the Afghan broadcaster ToloNews. There would be at least six children. The Taliban condemn the American actions: the new rulers are displeased that they received no advance warning.
“We are aware of reports of civilian casualties following our attack on a vehicle in Kabul today,” said a US military spokesman. “We would be deeply saddened by any possible loss of innocent lives.”
The drone attack on the car was the second American retaliation for Thursday’s deadly bomb attack at Kabul airport, claimed by the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (IS-K) terror group. Eyewitnesses reported that the residential area where the attack was carried out shook from the massive bang.
“We are confident that we have successfully hit the target,” the US military said. The explosions that followed the drone strike are said to indicate “the presence of a significant amount of explosive material” in the car.
According to the army, these may have led to additional casualties. According to an anonymous security official, there was at least one IS-K fighter in the car. He would have planned to carry out another attack at the airport.
“Unauthorized”
The Taliban condemned the United States for carrying out an airstrike in Kabul without first informing the group. It is illegal for the Americans to carry out attacks at their discretion in other countries, a spokesman told the Chinese state broadcaster CGTN. The Taliban and IS-K see each other as enemies. IS-K does not think the Taliban Muslim extremists are radical enough.
