Ten members of one Afghan family were killed following a US drone strike in Kabul, according to relatives.
The drone strike on Sunday was aimed at a vehicle carrying “a substantial amount of explosive material” and heading to Kabul airport, US officials said.
They said the strike had caused “significant secondary explosions” and that they were “continuing to assess the situation”.
Zemaray Ahmadi, 36, was killed alongside his sons Zamir, Faisal and Farzad – aged 20, 16 and 12, his family said.
Six of his nieces and nephews are also said to have died; a boy and girl both aged two, girls aged five and seven, a six-year-old boy and a 28-year-old man.
The family said Mr Ahmadi had worked with a foreign organisation in Kabul for 10 years as technical engineer.
US Army spokesman Major General William ‘Hank’ Taylor described the drone strike as an “unmanned, over-the horizon airstrike on a vehicle known to be an imminent ISIS-K threat”.
“This self defence strike successfully hit the target near Kabul airport,” he said on Monday.
“Significant secondary explosions from the targeted vehicle indicated the presences of a substantial amount of explosive material.
“We are aware of reports of civilian casualties ands we take these reports very seriously and we are continuing to assess the situation.”
The airstrike followed last week’s suicide bombing at Kabul airport which killed 13 US service members and scores of Afghans hoping to flee the country after the Taliban takeover.
ISIS-K, a regional affiliate of the Islamic State group, carried out the attack. It also claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on the airport on Monday.
US officials said its anti-missile system had intercepted five of the rockets.
Although there have been no reports of injuries, some did appear to hit apartment blocks near the airport, according to witnesses cited by the Associated Press.
President Biden had warned on Saturday that the situation remained extremely dangerous and that another attack was highly likely.
Remaining American personnel are due to leave Afghanistan on Tuesday, bringing an end to days of airlifts prompted by the Taliban’s rapid takeover.
UK efforts to bring people back ended on Friday.
The Taliban’s surge came after Western troops began withdrawing their final troops, with President Biden following through on a Trump pledge to end America’s presence in Afghanistan.
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