US acknowledges Syria air strike killed farmer rather than al-Qaeda leader
Al Jazeera
Botched strike is latest incident to raise questions about lack of accountability for civilian deaths from US strikes.
The United States Department of Defense has acknowledged that a drone strike in Syria, initially said to have successfully targeted an al-Qaeda leader, actually killed a farmer.
The Pentagon stated on Thursday that the drone strike on May 3, 2023, killed a 56-year-old shepherd named Lutfi Hasan Masto, whom they initially misidentified as a senior member of al-Qaeda.
US Central Command, which oversees military activities in the Middle East, wrote that it “acknowledges and regrets the civilian harm that resulted from the airstrike”.
The killing of Masto is the latest incident to raise questions about the impact of US drone warfare on civilians, who often pay the price for botched strikes.
