US House Republicans Seek Name of Official Who Approved Drone Strike on Afghan Aid Worker
23:17 GMT 28.09.2021 (Updated: 16:36 GMT 08.12.2022)
© AAMIR QURESHI
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A group of Republican lawmakers on the US House Oversight Committee issued a letter requesting a White House briefing on the August 29 drone strike that killed ten civilians, including an Afghan aid worker and seven children.
On August 29, two days after an explosion at the Kabul airport took the lives of 13 American soldiers and dozens of Afghan citizens, the US military carried out an airstrike targeting what it claimed were Daesh*-Khorasan (Daesh-K) terrorists in a vehicle that allegedly carried explosives and posed an immediate threat to Americans at the airport.
The lawmakers have questioned whether President Joe Biden personally authorized the attack.
“Did President Biden personally authorize the drone strike that killed Zemari Ahmadi? If not, who is the highest-ranking government official who authorized the strike?” the letter said on Tuesday. “When was President Biden informed the drone strike killed children? When was President Biden informed the drone strike killed only innocent civilians and no ISIS-K assets?”
.@oversightdems Ranking Member @RepJamesComer (R-Ky.) and @GOPoversight have sent a letter to @JakeSullivan46 requesting briefings on and documents related to the Biden admin's "over-the-horizon" Afghanistan strategy, including the 8/29 drone strike that killed 10 civilians. pic.twitter.com/w1o4IaMW8p
— Shawna Chen (@shawnarchen) September 28, 2021
The lawmakers named National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as being the chief architect of the Biden administration’s failings in Afghanistan and promised to conduct a thorough review of his actions that resulted in the removal of the US presence in Afghanistan and “the delivery of the country to the Taliban*.“
Although the US military originally reported no casualties apart from two terrorists in the car, the US media said the airstrike killed ten innocent Kabul residents.
The Defense Department later said the attack was a tragic mistake that killed innocent people, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered condolences to the victims’ family members, including the family of Zamarai Ahmadi, who worked for the humanitarian organization Nutrition and Education International.
Austin said the investigation into the drone strike did not find any link between Ahmadi and Daesh-K terrorists.
*Terrorist groups banned in Russia and many other states
