McKenzie: Pentagon Knew Civilians Killed in Kabul Strike Weeks Before Disclosure to Press

General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday that the Pentagon knew a drone strike had killed Afghan civilians within "four to five hours" after the attack.

The strike occurred near the capital city of Kabul on August 29 and killed 10 people, including seven children. The Pentagon said the strike was aimed at a member of ISIS-K, an affiliate of the Islamic State militant group, who they suspected was carrying a bomb.

McKenzie said that the military did not know the strike had hit others in error "until sometime later."

On September 1, the Pentagon announced that in addition to an "ISIS facilitator," "others" were killed in the strike. The Defense Department followed this announcement by saying it would seek to identify these individuals.

Nine days later, The New York Times and The Washington Post published investigations reporting that the strike had killed civilians and that there was no bomb in the targeted vehicle.

On September 17, McKenzie's office put out a statement officially acknowledging that civilians were killed and stating its initial belief that one of the targeted individuals had a connection to ISIS-K.

"This strike was taken in the earnest belief that it would prevent an imminent threat to our forces and the evacuees at the airport, but it was a mistake and I offer my sincere apology," McKenzie said.

Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also questioned during the House hearing. GOP Representative Pat Fallon of Texas asked the general why he publicly referred to the incident as a "righteous strike" three days after the incident, despite the Pentagon's knowledge that civilians had been killed.

Milley said he had "every reason to believe" at the time that the proper procedures were followed by the instigators of the strike. He added that he believed that the "target they were aiming at was hit."

The United States has been sharply criticized for its past use of drone strikes, particularly the number of civilians who have been killed in the attacks.

Neta Crawford, who co-directs the Cost of War Project at Brown University, told NPR that over the past 20 years, roughly 5,900 Afghan civilians have been killed by drone strikes over the past 20 years. She said most of these people were killed by the U.S. and its allies.

Democratic Representative Sara Jacobs of California asked McKenzie what could be done to prevent greater numbers of civilian casualties in the future.

"The strike that was undertaken in Kabul was a self-defense strike.... That's very different than the type of strike we would take in an over-the-horizon scenario. The principal differences would be this: We would not be under the acute pressure of time," he said.

"It would be wrong to believe the strike in Kabul, which I've acknowledged went badly wrong, is the prototype we would employ for past or future strikes," Milley said.