United States Central Command extended its deadline for an investigation into a May 3 drone strike in Syria that may have killed a civilian.
CENTCOM announced shortly after the strike that it had targeted a “senior al-Qaeda leader” in northwest Syria, but did not and up to this point has not named the intended target. Additionally, within days of the strike, reports emerged that the individual killed, identified as Lotfi Hassan Misto, did not have ties to any terror organization.
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Due to the possibility of Misto’s innocence, CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla directed an investigation on June 6, roughly a month after the strike occurred, while the commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve formally initiated an inquiry on June 23. The AR 15-6 investigation, effective June 23, had a 30-day timeline, though a spokesperson told the Washington Examiner on July 26 that a 3-week extension was granted, which would have expired around this week. But investigators will now have more time to uncover what took place.
“The investigation has been extended to allow the Investigating Officer additional time for a full and comprehensive investigation,” Lt. Col. Troy Garlock, a CENTCOM spokesman, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday. “At this time, we do not have anything further to provide as we do not comment on open investigations.”
Misto was killed by a missile strike on the outskirts of Qurqaniya, north of Idlib, on May 3, the Syrian Civil Defense, a humanitarian response group known as the “White Helmets,” said on social media. He was grazing his sheep at the time of the strike, which also killed several sheep, the group added.
His son, Hassan, told the Washington Post: “We had breakfast that morning like there was nothing wrong. We had breakfast and everything was fine, and then he went to herd his sheep,” and then after a few hours he had tea with his brother. Less than half an hour after leaving his brother, around midday, he returned to grazing his animals when the MQ-9 Predator drone deployed a Hellfire missile in his direction.
Al-Qaeda often shares statements online when senior operatives are killed, and there was no such announcement after Misto’s death, according to the outlet.
The Department of Defense has previously received criticism for harming or killing civilians, which has prompted Pentagon leadership to institute changes, though it’s unclear if they have worked given the current investigation. Last August, the Pentagon unveiled a memorandum from Secretary Lloyd Austin detailing new changes to the military’s drone program that are intended to prevent civilian casualties that expanded upon one issued by Austin back in late January, which resulted in the creation of the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan.
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CENTCOM accidentally targeted a civilian on Aug. 29, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan. The U.S. military believed the innocent individual, Zemari Ahmadi, was an ISIS-K terrorist who posed an imminent risk to U.S. troops evacuating at-risk Afghans just days before the military was set to leave the country indefinitely with the Taliban in control. Days earlier, an ISIS-K terrorist detonated a suicide bomb outside the Kabul airport gates killing roughly 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members and injuring dozens of others, while defense officials said there was a possibility for additional attacks.
A subsequent investigation resulted in no disciplinary actions for those involved in the strike.
