Global Courant 2023-05-19 15:18:41
ANKARA
US military officials have retracted their initial claims that a recent drone strike in Syria killed a senior al-Qaeda figure.
This comes after the deceased’s family insists that they have no ties to the terrorists.
The victim, 56-year-old Lotfi Hassan Misto, was identified by her family as the person targeted in the Predator drone attack on May 3, according to the Washington Post.
Interviews with Misto’s brother, son, and six others who knew him revealed that he was a former bricklayer living a quiet life in a town in northwest Syria. His relatives described him as a kind and hardworking man, whose entire existence was characterized by poverty.
Initial allegations by US military officials suggested that the attack had successfully targeted an influential al-Qaeda figure.
However, these allegations are now coming into question as the family vehemently denied any affiliation with terrorist groups and insisted that Misto was innocently preoccupied with his daily routine at the time of the attack.
The operation, overseen by US Central Command, was originally claimed to target a “senior al-Qaeda leader”, but no evidence or suspect was named.
Speaking anonymously, officials said the Pentagon was no longer certain that the attack had successfully killed a senior al-Qaeda figure.
The Washington Post quoted a US military official as saying, “We are no longer sure we killed a senior AQ official.”
But another official told US media that they believe the person killed may still have ties to al-Qaeda.
These statements were given as part of the ongoing investigation into the incident.
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