US offers payments to family of Afghans killed in botched drone attack

The United States has offered to pay unspecified compensation to relatives of 10 people in Afghanistan including seven children who were killed by mistake in a US Drone strike as American forces were completing their withdrawal in Afghanistan in August this year. The Pentagon has offered unspecified condolence payments to the family of killed civilians. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that the US Defence Department  had made a commitment that included offering ex-gratia condolence payments, in addition to working with the US State Department in support of the family members who were interested in relocation to the United States.

Kirby said that who were killed in the strike were innocent victims who bore no blame and were not affiliated with Islamic State-Khorasan or threats to US forces.The offer to pay these people was made on Thursday in a meeting between Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defence for policy, and Steven Kwon, the founder and president of an aid group active in Afghanistan called Nutrition and Education International (NEI), the Pentagon said in a statement. Last month, relatives of the people killed in the attack demanded compensation and a face to face apology.