US probing elderly civilian casualty from strike on Syria: CENTCOM

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The US military's Central Command said Friday it is examining whether an airstrike allegedly targeting a top Al-Qaeda commander in Syria resulted in the death of a civilian.

"CENTCOM continues to assess the outcome of the strike and has been made aware of allegations that the strike may have resulted in a civilian casualty," spokesperson Major John Moore said.

The command is "investigating to determine whether or not the action may have unintentionally resulted in harm to civilians," Moore stressed.

CENTCOM killed a 60 years old civilian who owns a chicken farm

On May 3, CENTCOM claimed that it had targeted a "senior Al-Qaeda leader" in northwest Syria.

However, the brother of Lotfi Hassan Masto, who was killed in a hit on the outskirts of the town of Qurqania, maintained he had no links to Al-Qaeda.

He was "not in Al-Qaeda and everything being said about him being in Al-Qaeda or in the Nusra Front is all lies upon lies. Even the American propaganda is all false," said Mohammed Masto, 72, in reference to a group previously affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

Masto added his brother was around 60 years old, had 12 children, owned a chicken farm, and "was tending to his sheep in the mountain when the aircraft came and targeted him."

"He was happy with his life and everyone loved him and appreciated him," he said. "He minded his own business and lived at the edge of the village."

Not an isolated incident: The US killed and is still killing civilians in Syria. Unsurprisingly, the US Defense Department hasn't held itself accountable for any civilian deaths.

Read next: Invaded, massacred, now 'abandoned': Afghan trauma from US continues

Why does the US continue to station troops in Syria?

Since ISIS has been defeated in Syria and Iraq, many analysts argued that the reason why the US remains stationed in Syrian territory has been left unclear. The US frequently loots oil from Syrian gas fields and transports them to other occupation bases in Iraq via illegal crossings.

The #US has built quite a reputation with its thievery skills: After #Iraq and #Afghanistan, it's #Syria's turn to fall victim to US hegemony that feeds on the wealth of other countries. pic.twitter.com/Au1I01GhLF

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 22, 2022

In short, the US has for long employed the alleged "ISIS threat" as a pretext to continue its illegal occupation of northeastern Syrian territories.

In early March, the US House of Representatives voted against legislation instructing Biden to end the US occupation of the Syrian Al-Tanf region and remove approximately 900 troops.

Currently, the US army and other foreign forces, participating in the so-called "International Coalition", occupy no less than 28 declared military sites in Syria, distributed over three governorates: Al-Hasakah (17 sites), Deir Ezzor (nine sites), and Homs (two sites).

Read more: Voices from Congress speak out to end US occupation of Syria