General Frank McKenzie, the commander of the US Central Command, said on Friday that about ten civilians, including seven children, were killed in a US drone strike in Kabul last month.

“It was a mistake and I offer my sincerest apologies,” McKenzie told reporters.

He said he now believed that it was unlikely that the vehicle that was hit or the people who died belonged to the terrorist organization ISIS, or were a direct threat to US forces at Kabul airport.

On Friday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered his “apology” for the “mistake” air strike that his country carried out in Kabul, which killed 10 Afghan civilians before the US withdrawal was completed.

“I offer my deepest condolences to the relatives of the dead who survived,” the minister said in a statement, acknowledging that the targeted man was an “innocent victim, like other people who were tragically killed.”

“We apologize, and we will do everything in our power to learn from this grave mistake,” Austin added.

Reuters + AFP