• A drone strike killed Afghan aid worker Zemari Ahmadi and nine members of his family on August 29, 2021.
• Only 11 Afghans have made it to the United States out of 144 trying to flee the country.

More than a year after an unintentional U.S. drone strike killed Afghan aid worker Zemari Ahmadi and nine members of his family, only a few of his relatives and colleagues have been relocated to the United States, according to an attorney for the nonprofit group that employed Ahmadi.

In the year since the tragic strike, the Defense Department and the Biden administration have repeatedly promised to compensate the family and assist any family members who wish to leave Afghanistan and resettle in the United States.

According to Brett Max Kaufman, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney who represents Nutrition & Education International of California, or NEI, which employed Ahmadi for 15 years, 11 Afghans have made it to the United States out of a total of 144 family members and colleagues who have been trying to leave since the deadly strike on Aug. 29, 2021.

Approximately 100 are Ahmadi’s relatives, with the remainder being NEI employees and their families, according to Kaufman.

According to Kaufman, more than 100 aid workers and their families have been able to flee Afghanistan, which two US defence officials confirmed. Around 40 are in Albania, and others have gone to Kosovo and Qatar, but they are all waiting to be transferred to the United States. According to officials, 32 Afghans in the group have been unable to flee the country.

Some Afghans were able to leave on charter flights to transit countries, but these require passports and documentation, limiting who can fly. According to Kaufman, at least one group escaped by driving through Pakistan, but a second group that attempted the same route was turned back at the border.

A spokesperson for the Pentagon declined to provide specifics about the case, saying in a statement: “The Department of Defense, in coordination with other U.S. Government departments and agencies continue to take steps to respond to the August 29, 2021 airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan.

 To protect the privacy of the family members, as well as to help protect their safety and security, we are not able to provide more information regarding these efforts at this time.”

Defense officials were unable to say whether any family members had received the condolence payments promised by the Biden administration.

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