Romal Ahmadi’s voice trembles when he recalls the day of the drone strike. “All my three children ran out of the house to welcome my older brother as he returned from work. I was sitting in the living room. They ran in the courtyard and the next thing I heard was a loud explosion.”

His children were Arwin, 7, Benyamin, 6, and Aayat, 2. All of them were killed on August 29, 2021 when an American hellfire missile struck the car in their courtyard. In total, seven children and three adults were killed.

The target of the U.S. strike was the oldest Ahmadi brother, Zemarai. The U.S. military tracked him for several hours that day via a drone after they observed him filling some containers. Ahmadi was employed with an American aid organization, distributing food in Afghanistan.

Every now and then he brought containers to his office to fill them up with potable water and bring them home. Then he made his way from his office back home, which was in the same direction as the Kabul Airport. When he reached his home, the drone operator fired the missile.