US will not discipline troops over 10 civilian drone deaths in Kabul, as Pentagon accused of 'absolving itself of accountability'

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin accepted recommendations not to discipline troops.  (AP: Andrew Harnik)

The Pentagon says it will not discipline any US troops over a drone strike that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, in Kabul on August 29.

The US has already admitted the attack, which came as foreign forces tried to evacuate Kabul airport in the face of the Taliban takeover, was "a tragic mistake".

At the time the US military said it thought the vehicle it hit was carrying suicide bombers who were on their way to attack the airport.

Two suicide bombings just days earlier outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport had killed 13 US troops and 170 Afghan civilians. 

An earlier review by Air Force Lieutenant General Sami Said found the strike was caused by execution errors, interpreting information that supported certain viewpoints, and communication breakdowns.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asked head of Central Command General Frank McKenzie and head of Special Operations Command Richard Clarke to review Lieutenant General Said's findings and provide feedback.

Spokesperson John Kirby said Mr Austin received several recommendations about the strike, but none included accountability measures for specific personnel.

The Pentagon said it was given no reason to discipline its troops over the August 29 strike. (Reuters)

"None of their recommendations dealt specifically with issues of accountability," he added.

Mr Kirby concluded the strike was a tragic mistake and not caused by misconduct or negligence.

He said there was a high level of threat facing US forces at the time.

The drone strike on a white sedan killed 37-year-old Zemerai Ahmadi and nine family members, including seven children.

Afghan man Zemerai Ahmadi, 37, is believed to have been killed in the blast. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Mr Ahmadi was a long-time employee of a US aid organisation.

"We know that there will be some who don't like this particular decision, but it wasn't an outcome that we came to without careful thought and consideration," Mr Kirby said.

Military 'absolves itself of accountability'

The founder of the aid organisation Mr Zemari worked for, Steven Kwon, called the decision shocking.

"How can our military wrongly take the lives of 10 precious Afghan people and hold no-one accountable in any way?" Mr Kwon said.

The US military and the Taliban confirmed the strike on the vehicle, which was believed to be heading to Kabul airport.

The Pentagon has said it is working to compensate and relocate the families of Afghans killed in the strike, but nothing has been finalised.

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