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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Chiara Fiorillo

Ten members of same family including 6 children killed by US drone strike in Afghanistan

Ten members of a family, including six children, have been killed by a US drone strike targeting a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.

Surviving relatives said the victims, who were exiting a car in their driveway, died when a vehicle parked nearby was hit by an explosion.

The US military said it was targeting a car in which at least a person linked to the Afghan branch of the Islamic State was.

Zamarai Ahmadi, a charity worker, was killed alongside his sons Zamir, 20, Faisal, 16, and Farzad, 12, according to one of his surviving sons, 22-year-old Samim Ahmadi.

A relative of the victims, Ramin Yousufi, told the BBC : "It's wrong, it's a brutal attack, and it's happened based on wrong information."

Ten members of a family were killed after a drone strike in Kabul (REUTERS)

Another family member, Emal Ahmadi, said his two-year-old daughter Sumaya also lost her life in the explosion.

He explained that he and some family members were waiting for a phone call to go to the airport after applying to be evacuated to the US.

Mr Ahmadi said his relative Nasser, who had worked as a translator with US forces, was also killed in the strike.

The youngest victim of the blast was two years old (BBC)
Six children were among 10 civilians who died after a US drone strike (BBC)

Neighbour Abdul Matin Azizi told The Washington Post that the explosion happened at around 4.30pm on Sunday.

He said he ran next door to help the family, but unfortunately he could not do anything.

The man explained: "The bodies were covered in blood and shrapnel, and some of the dead children were still inside the car."

Aimal Ahmadi, whose nieces and nephews were among those killed, said he had gone out to buy groceries when 10 people from his family were killed.

A relative said the victims were 'innocent, helpless children' (BBC)

Talking about the victims, he told Al Jazeera : "They were innocent, helpless children."

Ahmad Fayaz, a relative of the deceased, said the United States "always says they are killing [the Islamic State], al-Qaeda or the Taliban, but they always attack civilian people and children."

He added: "I don’t think they are good people."

The victims died yesterday afternoon (BBC)

US Central Command said the strike destroyed an Islamic State car bomb that posed an "imminent" threat to Kabul.

Officials said the vehicle was carrying "a substantial amount of explosive material", and that the strike had caused "significant secondary explosions".

Following the blast, the US military said some people nearby may have been hit and an investigation into the incident has been launched.

US Central Command said in a statement: "We are aware of reports of civilian casualties following our strike on a vehicle in Kabul.

"It is unclear what may have happened, and we are investigating further. We would be deeply saddened by any potential loss of innocent life."

All American personnel are due to leave Afghanistan tomorrow.

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