The U.S. military has walked back claims that it killed a top al-Qaeda boss in a drone strike in Syria, according to reports.
Officials changed their tune after the family of the man killed by a Hellfire missile said he had no links to terrorists, and was tending to his sheep when he died.
The family identified father-of-ten Lotfi Hassan Misto, 56, as the man killed in the strike on May 3, who they say was a former bricklayer who lived in the quiet northern town of Qorqanya, according to the Washington Post.
U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, oversaw the operation, releasing a statement hours later that it had conducted a strike ‘targeting a senior Al Qaeda leader.’
Officials have given no further details, and did not reveal the identity of the supposed terrorist leader that they were targeting with the attack.
