U.S. forces believed that subsequent attacks from ISIS were imminent, and through a series of erroneous intelligence decisions, linked a white 1996 Toyota Corolla and its driver, Zemari Ahmadi, to a terrorist plot.

Later, with almost everything senior defense officials had asserted in the weeks after the drone strike turning out to be false, the US acknowledged the attack as a mistake after reviewing footage that showed three children coming to greet Ahmadi at his sedan before they were killed.

[3] On 15 October 2021, the Pentagon offered unspecified amounts of monetary compensation to the families of the victims and pledged help relocating to the United States.

[6] On 20 January 2022, a group of 50 U.S. legislators submitted a letter to President Joe Biden, calling for a review of military practices, stating that "in too many instances, U.S. drone strikes have instead led to unintended and deadly consequences – killing civilians and increasing anger towards the United States," and describing the August 2021 strike as "emblematic of this systemic failure that has persisted across decades and administrations".

[7] On 27 January 2022, Secretary Austin addressed civilian casualties in drone strikes in a two-page directive in which he asked his department for a plan on the matter within 90 days.