The Pentagon acknowledged Thursday that it mistakenly killed a civilian in a 2023 airstrike in northwest Syria after U.S. service members misidentified the man as a senior al Qaeda leader.
An internal investigation found American forces “misidentified the intended Al Qaeda target and that a civilian, Mr. Lufti Hasan Masto (Masto), was struck and killed instead,” according to a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) statement on the findings.
The U.S. military initially claimed that it had killed a senior al Qaeda leader in the May 3, 2023, strike in northwest Syria. Instead it targeted Masto, a 56-year-old shepherd.
U.S. officials quickly walked back the claims a senior al Qaeda figure had been killed and wrapped its probe in November, but did not publicly admit until Thursday that it had mistaken Masto as an al Qaeda official.
@ISIDEWITH2 týždne2W
How much trust do you place in your country's military decisions after learning about incidents like this, and why?
@ISIDEWITH2 týždne2W
Should families of civilians mistakenly killed in military operations be compensated, and if so, how do you think this should be handled?
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Do you believe governments should publicly apologize for mistakes in military actions, and why?
