According to a report, Defense Department officials are increasingly convinced that a father of 10 was killed in a missile strike earlier this month instead of the intended target, a key al Qaeda figure.

According to sources at U.S. Central Command who spoke to the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity, defense officials are reconsidering their initial claims regarding the 3rd of May attack. The Pentagon’s initial claim that the strike killed a “senior Al-Qaeda leader” is being reconsidered in light of significant opposition from neighbors and conflicting evidence surrounding the death of Lotfi Hassan Misto, a 56-year-old bricklayer from northwest Syria.

“We are no longer confident we killed a senior AQ official,” one official told the Post, with a second DoD official noting, “Though we believe the strike did not kill the original target, we believe the person to be al-Qaeda.”

Following the missile attack, Misto’s family positively identified his body and maintained that he had no ties to Al-Qaeda. According to the report, they also stated that there are no known affiliates of the terrorist organization in the area.

The incident raises questions about the accuracy and reliability of the U.S. intelligence that justified the strike, but U.S. military officials have been reluctant to reveal their methodology for public examination and scrutiny.

According to his family, Misto was “old fashioned” and lacked modern devices such as a mobile phone. They added that he worked his employment and cared for his chickens. In addition, he was the father of ten offspring.

“He was born here and died here,” a neighbor who called himself Abu Zaid told the Post.

His brother was adamant: “If they claim that he’s a terrorist or that they got someone from al-Qaeda, they’re all liars.”

According to Jerome Drevon, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group who specializes in jihad and modern conflict, it is common for terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda to publicly announce the death of prominent leaders and glorify their “martyrdom.” However, in this instance, Drevon observes that no such announcement or celebration was noted by the Post.

In response to allegations of cover-ups and concerns over civilian casualties and missed targets, the Biden administration pledged to increase the transparency of its drone strikes last year. The Washington Post and other media outlets have investigated the effect of “confirmation bias” on the military’s ability to execute such operations effectively.

Air Force and Pentagon officials cited this bias as a contributing factor in a 2021 incident in which 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children, were killed in an unintentional drone strike in the immediate aftermath of President Joe Biden’s deadly and disastrous withdrawal from that country.

Former President Donald Trump referred to the White House staff as “morons” and President Biden as “the biggest moron” last month after the administration found a way to blame him for the withdrawal.

More on this story via Conservative Brief:

“These Morons in the White House, who are systematically destroying our Country, headed up by the biggest Moron of them all, Hopeless Joe Biden, have a new disinformation game they are playing – Blame ‘TRUMP’ for their grossly incompetent SURRENDER in Afghanistan,” Trump said on his Truth Social account. CONTINUE READING…