Pentagon admits August drone strike killed 10 Afghans, likely no ISIS-K operatives: 'A tragic mistake'

The Pentagon on Friday admitted that a drone strike in Kabul on Aug. 29 — initially calculated to target ISIS-K and prevent an attack on Americans troops — resulted in the deaths of 10 civilians, including seven children, The New York Times reports.

The U.S. military had reportedly incorrectly asserted the driver of the car targeted in the strike, Zemari Ahmadi, was connected to the Islamic State. What's more, the explosives officials believed to be loaded in the trunk of Ahmadi's car were likely just water bottles. "In short, the car posed no threat at all, investigators concluded," per the Times.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.