General Frank McKenzie, the US Central Command commander, admitted that a US drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, killed ten civilians, including children, late in August.

On Friday, McKenzie said it was "unlikely" that those killed were linked to the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), as the US military had asserted.

“After reviewing the investigation's findings as well as supporting analysis by interagency partners, I am now convinced that up to ten civilians, including up to seven children, were tragically killed in that strike,” McKenzie said.

The US general expressed his "heartfelt condolences" to the victims' families, emphasizing that the attack was carried out in the "sincere belief" that it would avert an imminent attack on the airport, where American forces were evacuating people.

McKenzie apologized, saying, "It was a mistake, and I offer my sincere apologies." “I am fully responsible for this strike and its tragic outcome as a combatant commander.”

On Friday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed his condolences to the victims of the assault and pledged a "thorough review" of the inquiry into the incident, which will also consider the need to change "strike authorities, procedures, and processes" in the future.

Austin issued a statement saying, "We apologize, and we will work hard to learn from this terrible mistake."

The Pentagon admits to making mistakes.'

The attack on August 29 came just days after ISKP claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing near the airport that killed at least 175 people, including 13 US service members.

As the Taliban grabbed control of Afghanistan and captured Kabul in mid-August, the US withdrew its forces from the nation by the end of the month.

As the Taliban took control of Kabul, US troops in charge of the airport undertook a vast and chaotic evacuation operation to transport American people, third-country nationals, and Afghan friends.

Throughout the evacuation, American officials warned of “credible” ISKP threats to the airport.

According to family members who spoke to Al Jazeera following the incident, the ten people murdered in the drone raid on August 29 ranged in age from two to forty years old.

Aimal Ahmadi, whose nieces and nephews were slain in the attack, told Al Jazeera at the time, "They were innocent, helpless children."

Despite initial claims of civilian losses in the media, the Pentagon supported the attack, emphasizing that it killed ISKP operatives.

On September 1, US General Mark Milley described the drone attack as "righteous."

“I don't want to sway the outcome of an investigation, but we believe the procedures were followed correctly and it was a just strike,” Milley said at the time.

According to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, Austin has requested a review of the drone raid probe to include accountability for the measures used to select the target.

After the drone attack, Congressman Adam Schiff, a Democrat who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, expressed concerns about the "accuracy and completeness of public statements."

“By admitting its mistake, the Pentagon has taken the first step toward transparency and accountability. And it cannot be the last step after such a tragic failure — one that, according to the Department of Defense, killed ten civilians, at least seven of them were children,” Schiff said in a statement.

“In order to prevent future tragedies, we need to know what went wrong in the hours and minutes leading up to the strike.”

McKenzie said on Friday that the Pentagon initially supported the strike based on the intelligence available at the time and that he requested a "comprehensive review" of the attack footage 24 hours after it occurred.

At a news conference, McKenzie stated, "I was confident that the strike had averted an imminent threat to our forces at the airport."

“I and other leaders in the Department [of Defense] repeatedly asserted the validity of this strike based on that assessment. I'm here today to correct the record and apologize for our errors.”

The United States is considering compensation for families.

McKenzie detailed several actions by the vehicle targeted by the raid, including a stop at a building identified with ISKP operatives that created the idea that it was tied to a prospective attack on the airport.

Officials from the Pentagon first claimed that additional explosions after the drone attack indicated that the vehicle was carrying explosives.

McKenzie appeared to admit on Friday that the first evaluation was incorrect.

“Following that, while the presence of a small amount of explosive material could not be ruled out, the most likely cause was the ignition of gas from a propane tank located directly behind the car,” he stated.

McKenzie said the US is exploring “ex gratia” financial compensation for the victims' families. Still, he acknowledged that reaching out to individuals on the ground in Afghanistan is challenging at the moment.

Amnesty International applauded the US military's admission of civil casualties on Friday but demanded that those "suspected of criminal responsibility" in the attack be prosecuted.

In a statement, Brian Castner, senior crisis adviser with Amnesty's crisis response program, said, "Survivors and families of the victims should be kept informed of the progress of the investigation and be given full reparation."

“It should be noted that the US military was only forced to admit its failure in this strike as a result of the current international scrutiny of Afghanistan.”