Pentagon releases first video of Kabul air strike that killed civilians

The botched strike killed 10 civilians, including aid worker Zemari Ahmadi, his relatives and children.

The Pentagon initially defended the attack but later called it a tragic mistake.
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The Pentagon initially defended the attack but later called it a tragic mistake.

The Pentagon has declassified and publicly released video footage of a US drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians in the final hours of a chaotic American withdrawal that ended a 20-year war in Afghanistan.

The New York Times obtained the footage through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against US Central Command, which then posted the imagery to its website on Thursday.

It marks the first public release of video footage of the August 29 strike, which the Pentagon initially defended but later called a tragic mistake.

The videos include about 25 minutes of footage from what the Times reported were two MQ-9 Reaper drones.

The footage show the scene of the strike prior to, during and after a missile struck a civilian car in a courtyard on a residential street. 

Indistinct images show individuals moving in or near the attack zone.

READ MORE: 'My kids split in half': Afghans seek answer after US strike kill civilians

'An error'

The military has said it struck what it thought was "an extremist" with the Daesh group's Afghanistan affiliate who might imminently detonate a bomb near the Kabul airport, where a hurried evacuation was under way.

Three days earlier a suicide bombing at the airport had killed 13 US troops and more than 160 Afghans.

When it later acknowledged its error in the August 29 drone strike, Central Command said it determined that the man driving the car had nothing to do with the Daesh group.

The man was Zemari Ahmadi, who worked for Nutrition and Education International, a US-based aid organisation.

The US offered his family financial compensation, but last month announced there would not be disciplinary action taken against troops and officials involved in the attack. 

READ MORE: 'Families of Afghan drone attack victims ask US to admit to 'war crime'

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