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If you are someone who’s followed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, this probably isn’t the first you’ve heard of America’s drone strike against “two high profile” targets. According to Major General Hank Talor, those targeted were members of ISIS-K. The Liberal media in the United States reported the heroic retaliation of the Biden administration against those responsible for the attacks at the airport in Kabul on August 26.
According to Taylor, deputy director of the Joint Staff for regional operations, the United States military was targeting ISIS-K “planners and facilitators.” However, the Major General said U.S. officials were unwilling to release any additional information regarding the targets’ roles in the terrorist group or how they were involved with the August 26 attack.
The bombing at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan was the deadliest attack on American forces in the country in 10 years. Over 170 Afghans were killed, along with 13 U.S. servicemen and women.
Initially, in regards to the U.S. drone strike, U.S. Central Command said an “over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation” killed one target, a planner for ISIS-K. However, the following day, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby reported that “as the assessments and information flowed over time, we were able to recognize that another was killed as well, and one wounded.”
Kirby was asked if the strike was a continuation of anti-terrorism efforts or retaliation for the airport bombing. His answer was, “a little of both.”
Kirby continued, “We have the ability to conduct over-the-horizon counterterrorism capabilities. It’s not a coincidence that it happened just a couple of days after we lost 13 brave service members.”
Who was targeted in Afghanistan?
According to research and analysis from the New York Times, the vehicle that was targeted in the U.S. drone strike was driven by Zemari Ahmadi. He had spent several years working for a U.S. aid group. What the American forces thought to be explosives were, in fact, jugs of water.
While the United States military has accepted the responsibility for collateral damage, three civilians were killed in the attack, it was more than likely 10 Afghanistan civilians who were killed in the strike. Seven children are included in the number. Again, this is according to analysis and research completed by the New York Times.
Evan Hill, a journalist on the NY Times Visual Investigations team, said via a tweet on Twitter, “The final act of the U.S. war in Afghanistan was a drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 people. Our latest investigation shows how a man the military saw as an ‘imminent threat’ and ‘ISIS facilitator’ was actually an aid worker returning to his family.”
Timeline of Ahmadi’s day
The following is a timeline that has been pieced together by at least 12 of Ahmadi’s colleagues and family members:
- Ahmadi was working as an electrical engineer for the California-based aid group, Nutrition and Education International.
- On the morning of the drone strike backed by President Biden, Ahmadi received a phone call from his boss, asking him to stop and pick up his laptop at 8:45 in the morning.
- At 9:00 a.m., Ahmadi left in his employer’s white Toyota Corolla. This was when U.S. surveillance began.
- Ahmadi was tracked around Kabul by an MQ-9 Reaper drone. He picked up breakfast and then headed to his office.
- Ahmadi started filling canisters with water around 2:30 in the afternoon. They were to be distributed as aid.
- At around 4:00 p.m., Ahmadi started on his commute home.
- Ahmadi arrived at his home at 4:50 p.m. when a Hellfire missile was fired, killing him and his family members.
No ISIS-K combatants were killed.
Not long after the U.S. drone strike, U.S. military leaders began insisting that only ISIS combatants had been killed in the drone strike. They reported a secondary explosion, proving the vehicle that was hit had been filled with explosive devices. However, on-the-ground investigations have disproven all claims of a secondary explosion. A war crime was committed by Biden’s military. On top of that, U.S. officials tried covering the incident up with lies.
Read: Israel or Iran? Where Does the Biden Administration Stand?
According to Ahmadi’s relatives, 10 members of the family were killed in the attack, including seven children. Ahmadi was killed with three of his children, Farzad, who was 10. Faisal, who was 16, and Zamir was 20. Naser, Ahmadi’s 30-year-old cousin, was also killed in the attack, along with Arwin, who was seven, Benyamin, who was six, Hayat, who was two, and both Malika and Somaya were three years old.
A New York Times’ reporter visited Ahmadi’s boss living in Afghanistan who has a resettlement case here in the US.. After hearing the false claims of U.S. military leaders following the attack, Ahmadi’s supervisor had a message for others. “We have nothing to do with terrorism or ISIS. We love America and want to go there.”
Jeffrey‘s a senior writer with ThinkCivics and a freelance journalist with The Jerusalem Post. He’s a published author, earned an associate’s degree in theology, and is pursuing a master’s degree in communications with a focus on journalism.
