It was mistake, offer sincere apology: Top US military commander on Aug 29 Kabul drone strike
Washington, (PTI): A top US military commander has conceded as a "mistake" the drone strike by the American forces in Kabul last month, targeting ISIS-K terrorists days after a suicide bombing at the city airport, that killed 10 civilians, including up to seven children.
Briefing reporters on the results of the investigation of the August 29 strike, General Frank McKenzie, the commander of the US Central Command, also said it was "unlikely that the vehicle and those who died in the drone strike were associated with ISIS-K or were a direct threat to US forces".
However, the strike must be considered in the context of the on-ground situation at the Hamid Karzai International Airport following the ISIS-K attack that killed 13 soldiers, sailors, and Marines and more than 100 civilians. Also, a substantial body of intelligence had indicated the imminence of another attack, he said.
Gen. McKenzie said that having thoroughly reviewed the findings of the probe and supporting analysis, he is convinced that as many as 10 civilians, including up to seven children, were tragically killed in that drone strike.
"It was a mistake, and I offer my sincere apology. As the combatant commander, I am fully responsible for this strike and this tragic outcome," he told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.
"Moreover, we now assess that it is unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were associated with ISIS-K or were a direct threat to US forces. I offer my profound condolences to the family and friends of those who were killed. This strike was taken in the earnest belief that it would prevent an imminent threat to our forces and the evacuees at the airport," he said.
Gen McKenzie said that 48 hours before the strike, sensitive intelligence indicated that the compound was being used by ISIS-K planners to facilitate future attacks.
"We were also receiving a significant number of reports indicating multiple avenues of attack, being planned simultaneously by ISIS-K would attempt to harm our forces, with rockets, suicide explosive vests, and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices," he said.
"In the 36 hours preceding the strike, our leaders at the airport and in the strike cell received more than 60 different pieces of intelligence related to imminent threats, with some corroborating and some conflicting with events observed from our UAVs flying above Kabul throughout the day," the commander of the US Central Command added.
One of the most recurring aspects of the intelligence was that ISIS-K would use a white Toyota Corolla as a key element in the next attack. Since the compound at point number one was the strongest lead for the series of imminent attacks, intense surveillance of the compound was initiated on the morning of August 29, he said.
Giving a detailed account of the strike, Gen McKenzie said the investigation now concludes that the strike was a tragic mistake.
"First, I will stress, this was not a rushed strike. The strike cell followed and observed this vehicle and its occupants for eight hours while cross-checking what they were seeing with all available intelligence to develop a reasonable certainty of the imminent threat that this vehicle posed to our forces, he said.
While the initial reports indicated a secondary explosion, the initial investigation could only conclude that there was a possible to probable presence of external accelerants that could include either explosive material in the vehicle or ignition of the gas tank of the vehicle.
Subsequent analysis could not rule out the presence of a small amount of explosive material but determined that the most likely cause was the ignition of gas from a propane tank located immediately behind the car, Gen McKenzie explained.
"While the team conducted the strike did so in the honest belief that they were preventing an imminent attack on our forces and civilian evacuees, we now understand that to be incorrect," he said.
"I'm here today to set the record straight and acknowledge our mistakes. I will end my remarks with the same note of sincere and profound condolences to the family and friends of those who died in this tragic strike," Gen McKenzie said, adding the US is exploring the possibility of ex gratia payments.
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Cong slams govt on rising pollution, demands review of National Ambient Air Quality Standards
New Delhi (PTI): Expressing concern over rising pollution levels, the Congress on Sunday demanded an urgent review and upgradation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 2009, and asserted that they must be enforced as well as monitored more effectively everywhere.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "PM 56-inch has been exposed, PM 2.5 is for real."
Ramesh also said the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) itself needs a laser-like focus on PM2.5.
"PM2.5 that is, particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers or lower measured in micrograms per cubic meter of air as emerged as the cause for a severe environment-public health crisis across the country," the former environment minister said on X.
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A study published in The Lancet Planetary Health in December 2024, based on data from 655 districts over 2009-2019, found that every 10 microgram per cubic metre increase in PM2.5 concentration leads to an 8.6% increase in mortality, Ramesh pointed out.
The 2025 Lancet Countdown estimates that about 17.2 lakh Indians die every year from exposure to PM2.5, a 38% increase since 2010, he said.
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has repeatedly told Parliament in 2024, 2025 and again in 2026 that deaths on account of air pollution "cannot be conclusively established", he pointed out.
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Health Ministry's own research body, has endorsed the Lancet findings, attributing 12.4 lakh deaths in 2017 to air pollution, that is 12.5% of all deaths that year, Ramesh said.
Now, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has done a detailed analysis of the data generated by the continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations operated by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), he said, adding that the data covers the period October 1, 2025 to February 2026 for 238 cities.
The conclusions are very disturbing and should be yet another wake-up call to all those who are in denial mode, he said.
Citing the analysis, Ramesh said none of the 238 cities complied with the WHO safe guidelines for PM2.5.
"In 204 of the 238 cities PM2.5 concentrations were above the levels set by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that were promulgated way back in November 2009. Subsequently, the WHO announced its updated safe guideline in September 2021," Ramesh said.
The Indian standard for the annual average concentration of PM2.5 is now 8 times weaker than the WHO guideline, he said.
The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) launched in 2019 has made very little impact on PM2.5 concentrations, he claimed.
PM2.5 concentrations complied with the NAAQS, 2009 safe level only in 12 of the 96 NCAP cities, Ramesh pointed out.
"Over Rs 13,400 crore has been released under NCAP and XV Finance Commission grants since inception, with 68% spent on road dust management.The NCAP benchmarks itself against PM10, the coarser and less lethal pollutant, not PM2.5," he said.
While the top polluted cities are in the National Capital Region covering Delhi and parts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, other states like Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh have a very high proportion of polluted cities that exceed the standards, Ramesh said.
There are 50 cities where continuous data availability is less than 80%, while there are some monitoring stations where no data was available for even a single day, Ramesh said.
"The National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 2009 need urgent review and upgradation. They also must be enforced and monitored more effectively everywhere. In addition, the NCAP itself needs a laser-like focus on PM2.5," the Congress leader asserted.
