"It was a mistake, and I offer my sincere apology," US general Frank McKenzie says [File: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP photo]

Washington, September 18 (RHC)-- U.S. Army General Frank McKenzie, the head of the U.S. Central Command, acknowledged that a drone strike in Kabul late in August killed 10 civilians.  McKenzie said on Friday that it was “unlikely” that those killed were associated with the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), as originally claimed by the U.S. military.

“Having thoroughly reviewed the findings of the investigation and the supporting analysis by interagency partners, I am now convinced that as many as 10 civilians, including up to seven children, were tragically killed in that strike,” Mckenzie said.

The U.S. general offered what he claimed were “profound condolences” to the families of the victims, stressing that the strike was taken with what he said was the “earnest belief” that it would prevent an imminent attack on the airport where American forces were evacuating people.

The strike on August 29th came days after a suicide bombing near the airport, claimed by ISKP, killed at least 175 people, including 13 US service members.   Family members of the victims told reporters after the attack that the 10 people killed range from two to 40 years old.

“They were innocent, helpless children,” Aimal Ahmadi, whose nieces and nephews were killed in the strike, told reporters in Kabul.