China reacts to Pentagon's Kabul drone strike probe; 'World yet to see US' accountability'

On Friday, November 5, China's foreign ministry reacted to the findings of the Pentagon regarding the US drone strike that killed as many as 10 Afghan civilians including seven children in Kabul in late August. Chinese foreign minister's spokesperson, Wang Wenbin stated, "Afghan lives matter," reported TOLO News. "We encourage the US to respect the Afghan people's lives and human rights, disclose the truth about the incident, prosecute the offenders and compensate the victims' families," he was quoted as saying by the outlet. He also voiced displeasure with the United Nations for remaining silent and failing to investigate war crimes perpetrated during the US military's 20-year tenure in Afghanistan. The world community is yet to see any investigation or accountability by the United States, he added. 

Meanwhile, on November 3, Pentagon asserted in a report that the drone strike in Kabul at the time of the chaotic US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan "did not break any laws." Lt. Gen. Sami, the service's inspector general who led the Pentagon's investigation, described the tragedy as "an honest mistake” adding that no single person was responsible for the flawed decisions of bombing a white Sedan with a Hellfire missile launched via a Reaper drone on August 29, 2021. The strike conducted by the US military came just a day after the self-proclaimed affiliate of the Islamic State called ISIS-K claimed the lives of 13 US Marines and American President Joe Biden vowed 'revenge' on the perpetrators. 

US Marine Corps confessed strike was 'done in error'

Earlier in the month of September, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie of the US Marine Corps confessed that "as the combatant commander, I am totally responsible for this strike and its devastating outcome" in relation to the botched drone strike in Kabul, reported The Associated Press (AP). The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) had also confirmed that the drone strike in Kabul that killed the civilians was "done in error." During the final days of evacuations, US Central Command demolished a white Toyota Corolla sedan in Kabul, claiming it had an ISIS "planner and a facilitator" as well as explosives intended to bomb American forces at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie of the US Central Command had stated that the military was "extremely wrong," admitting that the civilians were killed in the drone strike. The 'secondary explosion' according to Gen. McKenzie, was caused by a propane tank, not ISIS-K explosives, reported the news agency. 

Image: AP