US offers to pay relatives of Kabul drone attack victims

The US government has offered financial compensation to the relatives of 10 people mistakenly killed by the American military in a drone strike on the Afghan capital, Kabul, in August.

An aid worker and nine members of his family, including seven children, died in the strike.

The Pentagon said it was also working to help surviving members of the family relocate to the US.

The strike took place days before the US military withdrew from Afghanistan.

It came amid a frenzied evacuation effort following the Taliban's sudden return to power and only days after a devastating attack close to Kabul's airport by IS-K, a local branch of the Islamic State (IS) group.

US intelligence had tracked the aid worker's car for eight hours on 29 August, believing it was linked to IS-K militants, US Central Command's Gen Kenneth McKenzie said last month.

The investigation found the man's car had been seen at a compound associated with IS-K, and its movements aligned with other intelligence about the terror group's plans for an attack on Kabul airport.

Source BBC