US investigates possible civilian casualties after drone strike on Al-Qaeda in Syria

After carrying out a drone strike with an MQ-9 Reaper that neutralized a senior Al-Qaeda leader in northwest Syria earlier on Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) has launched an investigation into the 'possible civilian casualties', spokesperson for Central Command, Capt. Bill Urban, said in a statement.

The drone strike was conducted near the village of al-Mastumah, Syria, located around 60 km southwest of Aleppo. USCENTCOMM’s initial review has found that there have been suspected civilian killings and the airstrike may have also caused at least seven civilian injuries.

Al-Mastumah region in northern Syria, administratively part of Idlib governorate, borders Turkey and neighbours the Syrian government’s stronghold of Latakia province on the Mediterranean coast. The town in Idlib once hosted the largest military base for Bashar-Al-Asad regime and was the last holdout before it was seized by Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate and its allies that now use it as a strategic assault route to launch offensives in Latakia province, a bastion and the home province of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

As per the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, a key player in the Army of Conquest grouping, and the Islamist brigades have a stronghold in al-Mastumah and the neighbouring Hama province. 

File photo provided by the government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media shows Syrian government forces firing their weapon during a battle against the Syrian opposition fighters, in southern Aleppo. Credit: AP

"US forces conducted a kinetic strike near Idlib, Syria, December 3, targeting a senior al-Qaeda leader and planner," CENTCOM spokesperson Captain Bill Urban said in a statement accessed by Fox News digital.

"The strike was conducted using a precision strike method from MQ-9 aircraft. Urban revealed that an "initial review of this strike indicates the potential for possible civilian casualties," he added.

The al-Qaeda terror operative and senior planner neutralized by US Central Command’s drone strike in Idlib, Syria, was a member of Hurras al-Din, a splinter group affiliated with Al-Qaeda and fighting in the Syrian Civil War, reports revealed. Images from the scene depict a heavily wrecked car on the highway struck by the US drone attack. The US CENTCOM did not reveal the exact target of the drone strike, and is expected to release the results of the strike 'when appropriate'.

"We abhor the loss of innocent life and take all possible measures to prevent them. The possibility of a civilian casualty was immediately self-reported to US Central Command. We are initiating a full investigation of the allegations and will release the results when appropriate," Urban said in his statement to US broadcaster Fox news. 

US CENTCOM's R9X strike on Idlib in Sep killed women, children 

In September, the US assassinated the leader of an al-Qaeda offshoot group in Syria’s northwest Idlib province via a drone and a secretive 'blades' missile known as the Ninja Hellfire or the R9X that shreds the target without causing an explosion. Reports confirmed that the US military neutralized Sayyaf al-Tunsi, a Tunisian and a high-ranking member of Hurras al-Din, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, and an offshoot of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) the changed identity of al-Nusra Front (al-Qaeda in Syria).

US Joint Special Operations Command, with help from the CIA, has been conducting offensives to eradicate al-Qaeda in Syria and other Islamic terrorist movements including Hurras al-Din. 

A fighter from Syria's al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front holds his group flag as he stands in front of the governor building in Idlib province, north Syria. Credit: AP

The drone strike, ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2019, may have caused civilian casualties that included women and children. 

Pentagon recently admitted to the same after US Central Command, for the first time, acknowledged it in mid-November. The disclosure was followed after the publication of a New York Times investigation. On November 17, Austin told a presser, "We are committed to adjusting our policies and our procedures to make sure that we improve." 

He added that he believes leaders of the department should be held to account for high standards of conduct and leadership.

"And for my part as secretary of Defense, I have every intention to uphold that standard," Austin added, admitting to killing civilians.