U.S. military knew there were children,but was worth the collateral damage.

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Attack that killed kids targeted al-Qaida leader
Officials: Military knew children were present but considered risk worth it



NBC NEWS EXCLUSIVE
By By Jim Miklaszewski, Courtney Kube and Robert Windrem
NBC News
Updated: 1 hour, 47 minutes ago
U.S. special operations forces were targeting the leader of al-Qaida in Afghanistan — one of the organization's top commanders — when they launched an attack against a compound that killed seven children Sunday in Paktika province of eastern Afghanistan, U.S. officials tell NBC News.

According to several officials, and contrary to previous statements, the U.S. military knew there were children at the compound but considered the target of such high value it was worth the risk of potential collateral damage.

Those same officials tell NBC News the target of Sunday's attack was Abu Laith al Libi, the al-Qaida commander in Afghanistan and a top lieutenant of Osama bin Laden. The sources report that although six sets of remains besides those of the seven children were recovered, it's not clear whether Abu Laith is among those killed.


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