DISINFO: Leaving Afghanistan, the US military shot at the crowd of Afghans, killing children
SUMMARY
The Americans were leaving [Afghanistan], suffering casualties and shooting indiscriminately, even killing children. At the Kabul airport, they suddenly began firing at the crowd and then struck from the air without discerning who is who. So, what? And who is counting? The lives of Muslims do not matter.
RESPONSE
The Americans have never shot deliberately at the crowd at the airport. On 16 August, there was an incident when a crowd of Afghans trying to leave the country broke into the airfield, interfering with takeoff. In this situation, the military fired several shots into the air.
At least five people were reported killed, although a witness said to Reuters it was unclear if they had been shot or killed in a stampede. A US official told Reuters two gunmen had been killed by US forces after they appeared to fire into the crowd.
There were no reports of children who died that day. Afghans who tried to get into the airport were indeed shot several times, but it was not the Americans who did it, but the Taliban militants who controlled the area around the airport. A video of militants shooting into the crowd was posted on Twitter on 17 August by Pakistani journalist Wajahat Kazmi. Afghan independent news agency Aśvaka News released a video of a Taliban's gunman shooting a man in the back while he was climbing over an airport wall.
On 29 August, the US military launched one airstrike near the airport. An American drone attacked a vehicle in which Islamic State militants were driving in the direction of the airport. The blow was pinpoint. According to The Wall Street Journal, the missile was used without explosive elements, equipped with multiple blades and designed for mechanical impact only. Such munition is specifically designed to reduce the likelihood of accidental casualties. But the terrorists' car was filled with explosives; the explosion killed 10 civilians who were nearby, including 6 children.
See also a debunk by the Insider.
See more disinformation cases on the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.