IT took a year before the Pentagon admitted a civilian was killed by mistake during an operation in northeastern Syria in 2023.
The U.S. Central Command released a summary of its investigation connected to an airstrike launched on May 3, 2023. The report acknowledged that the initial claim of the United States about killing a senior al-Qaeda leader was false.
“On the morning of May 3, 2023, at 11:42 a.m. Syrian local time, U.S. Central Command forces conducted a unilateral strike in northwest Syria, targeting a senior al Qaeda leader. We will provide more information as operational details become available,’’ U.S. Central Command said.
Instead, the drone strike killed a man named Lutfi Hasan Masto, who was later identified as a civilian, and not the Al Qaeda target the US troops were looking for.
A group known as White Helmets who work as first responders in Syria, identified the civilian on the same day of the strike. They said Masto was grazing sheep when the strike killed him and several of the animals on the spot.
CENTCOM launched an investigation on June 23, 2023, finished it on November 15, 2023, but did not release the summary to the public until May 3, 2024.
The Pentagon’s report did not recommend any accountability actions for killing a civilian but concluded the strike complied with the law of armed conflict.
