The US military says it accidentally killed a civilian in a drone attack in Syria around a year ago. The actual aim of the attack in northwestern Syria was to kill a high-ranking leader of the terrorist militia al-Qaeda, the US Central Command (Centcom) said. However, an investigation revealed that the target was misidentified and a civilian was killed instead.
The Washington Post reported that it was a shepherd. The newspaper had already reported doubts about the Pentagon’s official account and wrote that a shepherd had been killed instead of a terrorist.
The man was tending his sheep in a rural area when he was followed by an armed drone, which fired a missile and killed the shepherd and several of his sheep, the newspaper wrote.
US Central Command: Determined to “Improve Targeting Procedures”
The attack was carried out in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict and Ministry of Defense guidelines, Centcom said. “However, the investigation identified several points for improvement.” However, for secret service reasons, no further details could be revealed, it said. “We are committed to learning from this incident and improving our targeting procedures to reduce potential harm to civilians.” The US military reportedly interviewed more than 40 witnesses during its investigation.