WASHINGTON — A US airstrike in Syria in May 2023 that targeted an al-Qaeda leader killed an innocent civilian instead, the US Central Command said on Thursday, confirming early reports from residents and relatives shortly after the attack.
The U.S. Central Command said an investigation into the May 3 attack concluded that U.S. forces misidentified the intended al-Qaeda target “and that a civilian, Mr. Lufti Hasan Masto, was struck and killed.”
Shortly after the drone strike, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said it struck a chicken farm near the town of Harem, killing one person. And just days later, relatives and neighbors told the Associated Press that the murdered person was a farmer who raised sheep, chickens and cattle and had no involvement with armed groups.
Masto’s brother, Mohamed Masto, said reports that his brother, 60, was involved with al-Qaeda were “absolute lies” and that his killing was “an injustice and an aggression.” Instead, Masto was simply tending his sheep when the strike struck.
The Central Command said its investigation into the strike was completed last November but was not publicly released until Thursday.
In a statement, Central Command said much of the investigation and findings are classified, but acknowledged that it “revealed several issues that could be improved.”
“What we can share is that the investigation found that the strike was carried out in accordance with the law of armed conflict and with the policies of the Ministry of Defense and CENTCOM,” the statement said. “We are committed to learning from this incident and improving our targeting processes to limit potential harm to the civilian population.”
The Defense Department has come under fire during the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria for killing civilians in airstrikes. It has established a detailed investigation and review process for strikes when there are allegations that innocent people have been killed.
The U.S. also continues to target leaders of al Qaeda and Islamic State in Syria, including the 2017 airstrike that killed Abu al-Kheir al-Masri, a former aide to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda’s second in command in Syria .