The Biden government is acknowledging that an airstrike conducted in Syria last May failed to eliminate their target, a top-ranking al-Qaeda leader. An innocent Syrian civilian, identified as Lutfi Hasan Masto, was killed instead. The admission follows an investigation by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
“What we can share is the investigation concluded the strike was conducted in compliance with the law of armed conflict as well as Department of Defense and CENTCOM policies,” the Biden government said in a statement. They added: “However, the investigation revealed several issues that could be improved. We are committed to learning from this incident and improving our targeting processes to mitigate potential civilian harm.”
Following the strike, CENTCOM initially said the target was a high-ranking al Qaeda terrorist and that the individual had successfully been eliminated. However, within days of the airstrike, senior officials in the Biden government were acknowledging to American media that the target may not have been a terrorist.
Lutfi Hasan Masto, 56, was a Syrian bricklayer who was working in an area that Defense Department officials believed to be of interest to al Qaeda. However, after they cleared his termination via a Hellfire missile, those same officials acknowledged that their identification of Masto as a terrorist leader may have been mistaken.
“U.S. Central Command acknowledges and regrets the civilian harm that resulted from the airstrike. We take all reports of civilian harm caused by U.S. military operations seriously and continue to employ thorough and deliberate targeting and strike processes to minimize civilian harm,” Biden‘s Defense Department said, acknowledging that they killed an innocent Syrian bricklayer.
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