In early May, U.S. Central Command said its troops launched a drone strike in northwest Syria, killing a senior al-Qaida leader. But recently some new information has made the Pentagon begin to doubt life - they seem to have killed the wrong person again.
Comprehensive Fox News Network and "Washington Post" reported on the 18th local time that a senior US defense official confirmed that the US military is retracting the statement that "a senior leader of al-Qaeda was killed in a US drone strike". Family members of the deceased said the U.S. military killed a civilian with no connection to the terrorist group, and the father of 10 was herding sheep when he was killed.
Screenshot from The Washington Post
According to the Washington Post, on May 3, local time, the US Central Command supervised the operation and issued a statement on the day of the attack, saying that its troops launched a unilateral strike operation in northwest Syria, and the target of the "Predator" unmanned reconnaissance aircraft was said to be a "senior leader of al-Qaeda", but the US military did not provide more details about this and did not disclose the identity of the dead.
Two Defense Department officials spoke anonymously that there are now doubts within the Pentagon about who was killed. One official believes the U.S. military did not kill a senior al-Qaida leader, while another said the attack did not kill the original target, but that the dead man was also an al-Qaida member.
In the weeks following the attack, U.S. military officials declined to say who they were targeting, to respond to whether a terrorist leader had managed to escape, or to explain why some in the Pentagon insisted that the dead were members of al-Qaida after the family denied that the dead were terrorists.
Lotfi Hassan Misto, 56, was allegedly the victim of a Predator Hellfire missile killed during the operation. Through interviews with his brother, son and six other acquaintances, China Post paints a portrait of him:
Misto was a bricklayer and lived quietly in this small town in northwestern Syria. He spent his whole life in poverty, but remained a kind and hardworking man. The father, of 10, was herding sheep when he was killed.
Lotfi Hassan Misto
Misto's neighbors describe his daily routine as drinking tea with friends and family and taking care of his pets. He is also a traditional Muslim, spends most of his time away from home praying at the mosque, and does not have a mobile phone.
His son recalled that everything was going on the day of the incident, and after the family had breakfast on the morning of the 3rd, Misto went to herd the sheep. He also drank tea with his brothers and did not separate until 11:30 to return to his place where he kept his animals in captivity.
Just as Misto was out walking through the field, the Predator drone flew overhead, followed by a loud explosion. Local residents revealed that the drone had been monitoring the local area for nearly two weeks at the time, and the missile hit not far from where Misto was drinking tea.
China Post said it provided detailed information about Misto to several experts on terrorism, all of whom said they had found no evidence of Misto's links to terrorist groups and had little doubt about his civilian status.
In interviews, Misto's family and neighbors said they were surprised by allegations that Misto had "ties to al-Qaida."
Misto's brother was the most furious: "If they [the Pentagon] claim he's a terrorist, or if they catch anyone from al-Qaeda, they're liars!" ”
The China Post also mentioned that the airstrikes took place near Misto's home and chicken farm, a U.S. defense official who noted that this coordinate was close to al-Qaida's "known area of interest," but he declined to say exactly where or how to build.
It was not immediately clear whether the U.S. commander overseeing the attack realized that Misto was only living nearby, or whether it was one of the factors that the U.S. military considered him a terrorist.
On Thursday, Central Command spokesman Michael Lawhorn said in a statement that they were aware of reports of civilian casualties and would continue to evaluate the results.
"Central Command takes all such allegations seriously and we are investigating them to determine whether this operation has inadvertently caused harm to civilians." He said.
In 2021, the United States launched a "last missile strike" before withdrawal in a residential area of Kabul, Afghanistan, when the US military claimed that they had killed a car "suspected of preparing to attack the Kabul airport Khorasan branch members", but the investigation found that all 10 victims were Afghan civilians, including 7 children.
The incident drew strong international condemnation, after which the Biden administration promised to take steps to reduce such risks and increase the transparency of scrutiny when similar cases occur.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.