https://rightsanddissent.org/news/may-13-1985-the-day-a-city...
And sure it was considered unconscionable. Who went to prison in the administration of the time? Hint: not the police, military, or politicians who ordered it.
There's also the case in which the Air Force bombed Tulsa. Still, more African Americans, so it wasn't really a big deal (notice a trend?).
It's fine to be angry but not OK to twist basic facts.
Because of the way the 9/11 AUMF is crafted, there's no legal difference, just as there would have been no legal difference between bombing Japanese forces in WWII that happened to be found on US soil and bombing then in Japan or some third country.
There are, however, practical and political differences, which is why, e.g. when German unlawful combatants were identified in the US in WWII (after two of them turned themselves in to the FBI, who they had trouble convincing of the reality of the situation, and fingered the rest of the group), the government didn't send an assault force and level the neighborhood, but instead the FBI picked them up (and then handed then over to the military.)