Thaindian News

KABUL (BNO NEWS) — The U.S. Military on Saturday released its findings from the investigation into an airstrike in February that killed up to 23 Afghan civilians in southern Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province. It detailed how a poorly functioning command and unprofessional operational reporting led to the incident.

The incident, which left up to 23 Afghan civilians killed and twelve others injured, happened on February 21 in the vicinity of Shahidi Hassas when the convoy they were traveling in was mistaken for an insurgent force and was engaged with air-to-ground fire.

“The tragic loss of life was compounded by a failure of the commands involved to timely report the incident,” said Major General Timothy McHale of the U.S. Army. “The strike occurred because the ground force commander lacked a clear understanding of who was in the vehicles, the location, direction of travel and the likely course of action of the vehicles.”

McHale said the lack of understanding resulted from poorly functioning command posts which failed to provide the ground force commander with the evidence and analysis that the vehicles were not a hostile threat and the inaccurate and unprofessional reporting of the Predator crew operating out of Creech Air Force Base in Nevada which ‘deprived the ground force commander of vital information.’

The ground force commander was executing a combined combat operation in the southern village of Khod, and he believed the vehicles - which were approximately 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) away - contained a group of insurgents attempting to execute a flanking maneuver to reinforce insurgents operating near the village.

“Movements of the vehicles appeared to match calls heard over intercepted communication [ redacted ] for insurgents to mass for an attack on the combined US and Afghan forces near Khod,” McHale wrote in his report. The Major General said the vehicles were first spotted at 5 a.m. local time, and none of the women were spotted in or near the vehicles during the three-and-a-half hours the movements of the vehicles were tracked.

“Two children were spotted near the vehicles, but inaccurate reporting from the crew of the unmanned Predator aircraft to the forces on the ground led the Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) to believe that the vehicles contained only armed military aged males,” McHale said. Information that the convoy was anything other than an attacking force was ignored or downplayed by the Predator crew, he added.

In addition to the poor communication and poor analyses by the Predator crew, the operations centers failed to analyze the readily available information and communicate effectively to the Operational Detachment Alpha Commander.

When the ODA Commander, who was conducting Battle Damage Assessment (BDA), counted 15 or 16 men killed at the site. During follow-up operations, however, local elders claimed that 23 men were killed and compensation payments were made to their families. Though it is unclear which claim is correct, local elders sometimes exaggerate claims of civilian casualties to receive additional compensation.

Besides the fatalities, eight men, one woman, and three children sustained injuries in the engagement and are receiving medical care from U.S. and coalition personnel. “The ODA Commander immediately released the remains of the deceased to local Afghan Police and community leaders at the strike site and the ODA team evacuated the wounded for medical care,” McHale said.

McHale continued that initial observations of the vehicles appeared to indicate a threat force, as adult men were observed gathering in and around the vehicles, moving tactically and appearing to provide security during stops. “The movement of the vehicles matched pre-mission intelligence,” he said.

According to the investigation, the ODA Commander had displayed ‘tactical patience’ in letting the situation develop for several hours before the engagement. “The time bought by that patience was wasted because of the Predator crew’s inaccurate reporting and the failure of both command posts to properly analyze the situation and provide control, insights, analysis, or options to the ODA commander,” McHale said.

The investigation did reveal that a more experienced Day Battle Captain came on shift during the final phase of the operation. It said he analyzed the situation and took appropriate steps to assist in developing alternative engagement scenarios with the [redacted] Commander. “Unfortunately, these alternatives had not yet been implemented before the engagement occurred,” McHale said.

U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, the Commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, in response to the incident, approved a series of recommendations to U.S. and coalition forces. Among the recommendations is to develop a seminar taught by former Battalion/Brigade/Division level Commander/Command Sergeants Majors, using case studies and vignettes that educate and train leaders on leading COIN formations. He also called on developing a required professional reading list of books, periodicals, articles and investigations that bring to light the complexities and leadership responsibilities of leaders at all levels of COIN operations.

Four officers, including senior leaders at the battalion and brigade level, have been reprimanded since the incident, the military said.

The commander also approved a recommendation to develop a mobile training team to evaluate and train units’ Command Posts on COIN operations as well as to develop a seminar to educate and train leaders on leading COIN formations. “Further, this training should ensure full development and training on the targeting process, responsibilities and engagement criteria at all levels in accordance with the Rules of Engagement and Tactical Directives,” McChrystal wrote in a letter.

McChrystal also requested that the Wing Commander for the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing Commander convene a Commander’s Directed Investigation to determine the actions and assessments of the Predator crew involved in the incident.

Gen. McChrystal briefed Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the findings of the investigation earlier this week. “This was a deeply regrettable incident and I share the sadness felt by the people of Afghanistan over this loss of innocent life,” Karzai said. “General McChrystal pledged to me that the most exhaustive investigation would be conducted to determine what happened and why, and I believe this has been done. I am also confident that appropriate actions are being taken with regard to those involved in the incident, and most importantly, to ensure measures are taken to prevent such accidents from happening again.”

McChrystal further said the U.S. Army would do all it can to regain the trust of the Afghan people. “Our most important mission here is to protect the Afghan people; inadvertently killing or injuring civilians is heartbreaking and undermines their trust and confidence in our mission,” he said. “We will do all we can to regain that trust.”