By Farrukh Abadi
The US military recently announced that an airstrike they claimed had targeted an al-Qaida leader in Syria in May 2023 actually killed an innocent civilian.
The civilian, Loutfi Hassan Mesto, was a farmer and father of 10. He was 56 years old when he was murdered by a US drone strike.
At the time, US Central Command stated that they conducted an airstrike “targeting a senior Al Qaeda leader.”
Shortly after the strike had occurred, reports from several sources—including the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and relatives and neighbors of Mesto—stated that the airstrike had struck and killed Mesto at his farm, and that he had no relations with al-Qaida.
US CENTCOM waited nearly 8 weeks after the murder to open up a formal investigation.
In an interview at the time of the strike, Mesto’s brother, son, and others who knew him described him as old-fashioned, hardworking, kind, and that his “whole life was spent poor.”
In response to accusations of Mesto being affiliated with al-Qaida, Mesto’s brother had said “they’re all liars.”
US CENTCOM stated that the investigation had been completed last November, six months before they made the information public.
Despite finding they had killed an innocent civilian, the investigation “concluded the strike was conducted in compliance with the law of armed conflict as well as Department of Defense and CENTCOM policies” and that compensation payment was “determined not appropriate.” Their reasoning was not stated.
