US forces mistakenly kill Syrian civilian in drone strike: report

• A Washington Post investigation found that U.S. forces mistakenly killed a civilian in a drone strike.
• The strike, carried out in Syria in 2023, aimed to hit a member of Al-Qaeda.
• Central Command maintains that the strike was consistent with the law of armed conflict.

A Washington Post investigation revealed Thursday that U.S. forces killed a shepherd in a drone strike after mistaking him for a senior al-Qaeda official.

“On May 3, 2023, the United States conducted a unilateral counterterrorism airstrike in northwest Syria, targeting a senior al-Qaeda leader,” US Central Command said in a statement Thursday, near ‘one year after the incident. “The investigation determined that U.S. forces misidentified the al-Qaeda target and that a civilian, Mr. Lufti Hasan Masto (Masto), was struck and killed instead.”

The Washington Post opened its investigation in May 2023 following the deadly strike, calling into question the identity of the al-Qaeda member who U.S. officials said was killed. A month later, the US military opened its own investigation into the incident.

Central Command said its investigation found there were “several problems” in the operation, but did not explain exactly why it failed to identify its target.

Masto, a shepherd, was 56 years old and lived in the Syrian town of Qorqanya. On the day he died, a US Predator drone tracked him and fired a Hellfire missile, which landed behind his house.

According to the Central Command investigation, the strike was carried out in accordance with Central Command and Ministry of Defense policies, as well as the law of armed conflict.

A defense official told The Washington Post on condition of anonymity that the U.S. drone strike was botched due to poor decision-making and accuracy, or “confirmation bias and red team issues.” insufficient” among staff.

The Washington Post has determined that it is still unclear who the intended target was and whether anyone will be held responsible for the inaccurate strike.

Central Command said in its statement Thursday that it “recognizes and regrets the harm caused to civilians by the airstrike,” adding that CENTCOM takes “seriously all reports of civilian harm caused by U.S. military operations and continues to employ thorough and deliberate targeting and strike processes.” to minimize harm to civilians.

This is not a first. The US military has made other similar mistakes in the past, such as when it initially celebrated the elimination of an imminent threat with a deadly drone strike during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, only to later discover that It actually killed an aid worker and nine other people, including seven children.

A New York Times investigation shed light on this fatal incident for the first time. None of the soldiers involved in this strike were punished. Civilians have, time and time again, been the collateral victims of wars in the Middle East.