Three children ‘killed in US drone strike’ targeting ISIS-K suicide bombers

Multiple Afghan civilians, including relatives and children, were reportedly killed in Sunday’s US airstrike in Kabul.

US officials said the drone strike wiped out a vehicle carrying multiple suicide bombers that posed an “imminent ISIS-K threat” to the city’s airport.

The exact amount of casualties was not immediately clear, but a relative of those killed told CNN that nine of his family members died in the drone strike.

Six children, ranging in age from 2 to 10, and three adults were among the dead, the relative told the news outlet.

US officials on Sunday night acknowledged the reports on civilian deaths, but did not confirm any had occurred.

Capt. Bill Urban, spokesman for the US Central Command, said in a statement that a secondary explosion from the drone strike could be to blame for additional deaths.

“We know that there were substantial and powerful subsequent explosions resulting from the destruction of the vehicle, indicating a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional casualties,” Urban said.

Two American military officials told the Associated Press that multiple suicide bombers were inside the vehicle that was targeted.

The brother of those killed told CNN that they are “an ordinary family” with no ties to any terrorist organizations.

“We are not ISIS or Daesh and this was a family home — where my brothers lived with their families,” he told the network.

At least three of the children and their father were inside their own vehicle, preparing to leave for a family event, when they were killed, the relative said.