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.
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
How much trust do you place in your country's military decisions after learning about incidents like this, and why?
@9M4NV622wks2W
As this is America, a godless country with no regard for human life, I trust our army more.
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
Should families of civilians mistakenly killed in military operations be compensated, and if so, how do you think this should be handled?
@9M4NZHH2wks2W
Families should be compensated however the issue is with the United states intervening in other country's and ordering drone strikes in foreign country's where they have no right to do that
@ISIDEWITH2wks2W
Do you believe governments should publicly apologize for mistakes in military actions, and why?
@9M4L43RConservative2wks2W
Yes, it then gives the people an opinion and if our country is involved then we have a right to know.
