The civilians were hit by the shrapnel of the bomb," Aden said.Īl Shabaab and the government communications minister did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The house was not struck and civilians were not targeted. As they ate the meat, the drone struck them. "They were seated outside the house and were busy enjoying meat and rice. forces were not onsite for the operation and did not conduct air strikes during or in support of the operation."Ī drone had tracked the militants to a house in El-Lahelay, which belonged to one of their relatives, local leader Farah Aden told Reuters by phone. "Unfortunately, civilians were injured and killed in the vicinity of the operation," AFRICOM said in a statement. military's Africa Command (AFRICOM), which has been helping the Somali government in its yearlong offensive against al Shabaab, confirmed three militants were killed and that AFRICOM had evacuated injured civilians. They were killed in a "special operation" on Wednesday night, SONNA reported, without mentioning the use of a drone or the killing of the family. The state news agency SONNA reported that the three slain militants were senior leaders of al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, including Olol Ali Guled, the supposed commander of the group in Galgadud. Central Command, made a rare public admission that the strike "was a mistake," and said he is "fully responsible for this strike and the tragic outcome.MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suspected drone strike in central Somalia killed five civilians and three al Shabaab militants, two local leaders said on Friday, after the fighters sought refuge in a house compound containing a family.ĭiverging accounts of the incident emerged, with Somalia's state broadcaster reporting that a woman and two children were killed by a landmine the militants had hidden in a house in the village of El-Lahelay in Galgadud state. The 10 dead Afghan civilians were all members of the same extended family, relatives told NBC News, and included the seven children, some as young as 2 and 3.
It found that the initial reviews conducted immediately following the strike were conducted in a compressed time frame - over less than a week - aiming to provide information as quickly as possible, but failed to accurately assess all the facts. officials that the drone strike prevented a terrorist attack. The report also addressed the initial claim by U.S. Said noted that confirmation bias is “particularly a factor in this scenario,” and that “these measures will go a long way to greatly mitigate the risk of this happening again, because they all contributed to the ultimate strike.” The recommendations were to implement procedures to mitigate risks of confirmation bias, to enhance sharing of situational awareness between the strike team and other teams, and to review prestrike procedures used to assess presence of civilians. military conducts very few such strikes and had done no similar strikes in the prior four months, according to Said. The report, commissioned by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, recommended steps to prevent future mistakes in similar “self-defense” drone strikes, where evidence is gathered and assessments made in a condensed time frame compared to most drone strikes. Pentagon officials called the assessment, which was primarily driven by interpretation of intelligence and observed movement of the vehicle and occupants over an eight-hour period, "regrettably inaccurate." forces at Hamid Karzai International Airport, 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) away. The vehicle, its contents and occupant - the intended target of the strike - were assessed at the time as an imminent threat to U.S. They began tracking the wrong vehicle after it showed up at a known ISIS-K location. The United States had intelligence that ISIS-K was plotting an attack against the airport using a white Toyota Corolla. military members and scores of Afghan civilians in August. The strike was launched three days after a deadly suicide bombing outside Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S.
"What is clear now is understandably less so in real time." "While this investigation had the benefit of considerable time to assess information available during the strike, those executing it didn't," Said's team concluded.
#Us drone strike kills children full
The full report was not made available to the public. Said did not recommend sanctions for those involved, but commanders, who received the full report Monday, have the option of deciding on any discipline or accountability actions.
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