{"id":2005576,"date":"2023-08-19T05:14:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-19T09:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/centcom-extends-investigation-into-possible-civilian-casualty-in-may-drone-strike\/"},"modified":"2023-08-19T05:15:23","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T09:15:23","slug":"centcom-extends-investigation-into-possible-civilian-casualty-in-may-drone-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/centcom-extends-investigation-into-possible-civilian-casualty-in-may-drone-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"CENTCOM continues probe into potential civilian harm from May drone strike."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcentcom-extends-investigation-into-possible-civilian-casualty-in-may-drone-strike%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2005576&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Investigation Extended into Drone Strike in Syria<\/h2>\n<p>The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has extended its deadline for\u2062 investigating a drone strike in Syria that may have resulted in\u2062 the death of a civilian. The strike, which occurred on May 3, targeted a supposed &#8220;senior al-Qaeda leader&#8221; in northwest Syria. \u2063However, it\u200d was later revealed that the individual killed, Lotfi Hassan Misto, had no ties to any terror organization.<\/p>\n<p>Concerned about the possibility of Misto&#8217;s innocence, CENTCOM Commander Gen.\u200c Michael \u201cErik\u201d Kurilla initiated an investigation on June 6. The inquiry was formally launched by the commander of Combined Joint Task \u2063Force Operation Inherent Resolve on \u200bJune\u200b 23. \u200dOriginally scheduled \u200dto\u200c be completed within 30 days, the investigation has\u200c been granted a three-week extension to ensure a thorough and comprehensive examination of the incident.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The investigation \u200chas been extended to allow the Investigating Officer additional time\u2062 for a full and comprehensive investigation,&#8221; said\u200d Lt. Col. Troy Garlock, a CENTCOM spokesman. &#8220;At this time, we do not have anything further to provide as we do not comment on open investigations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>The Tragic Incident<\/h3>\n<p>Misto was \u2062killed by a missile\u2064 strike on May 3 while grazing his sheep\u200b on the outskirts of Qurqaniya, north of Idlib. The \u2063strike, carried out by an MQ-9 Predator drone, \u2062also resulted in the \u200cdeaths of several sheep. The Syrian Civil Defense, also\u200b known as the &#8220;White\u200d Helmets,&#8221; \u2062reported \u200cthe incident on social \u2063media.<\/p>\n<p>According to Misto&#8217;s \u200bson, Hassan, his father had a normal morning, having breakfast and\u2062 spending time with family. He then went to herd his \u200bsheep and later had tea with his brother. Less\u200b than half an hour after leaving \u200bhis brother, Misto returned to grazing his animals when the \u200bmissile struck.<\/p>\n<p>Al-Qaeda typically announces the deaths of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/centcom-extends-investigation-into-possible-civilian-casualty-in-may-drone-strike\/\" title=\"CENTCOM continues probe into potential civilian harm from May drone strike.\">senior operatives online<\/a>, but there was no such announcement following Misto&#8217;s death.<\/p>\n<h3>Addressing Civilian Casualties<\/h3>\n<p>The Department of Defense \u200chas faced criticism in \u2064the past \u200dfor harming or killing civilians, prompting efforts to implement changes. Last year, Secretary Lloyd \u200dAustin issued a memorandum outlining new measures\u2064 to\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-russia-claims-separatist-regions-have-asked-for-its-help-fighting-ukraines-military\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Russia Claims Separatist Regions Have Asked For Its Help Fighting Ukraine\u2019s Military\">prevent civilian casualties<\/a> in the military&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-unveils-advanced-stealth-drones\/\" title=\"China Unveils Advanced Stealth Drones\">drone program<\/a>. These changes built upon\u2062 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cruz-to-block-two-more-biden-cabinet-nominees-to-address-sanctions-against-nord-stream-2-pipeline\/\" title=\"Cruz to block two more Biden cabinet nominees to address sanctions against Nord Stream 2 Pipeline\">previous plan<\/a> and established the Civilian Harm \u200bMitigation \u200dand Response Action Plan.<\/p>\n<p>However, the\u200c effectiveness\u200d of these changes remains uncertain, pending\u200c the outcome of the ongoing investigation. CENTCOM&#8217;s accidental \u200btargeting of a civilian in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 29, 2021,\u200b further\u200c highlights the need for\u200b continued improvement. The investigation into that incident did not result in any disciplinary actions.<\/p>\n<p>As the investigation into \u2064the May 3 drone strike continues, CENTCOM aims to\u200d uncover the truth behind the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/shock-as-journalist-is-murdered-on-outskirts-of-resort-town\/\" title=\"Journalist's Murder Shocks Resort Town Outskirts\">tragic\u200b event<\/a> and ensure accountability for any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US Central Command has prolonged its inquiry into a drone attack in Syria on May 3, which potentially resulted in the death of a civilian. CENTCOM initially claimed to have targeted a &#8220;senior al-Qaeda leader&#8221; in northwest Syria but has yet to disclose the individual&#8217;s identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2005577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2005576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2005576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2005577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2005576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2005576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2005576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}