A top US defence source confirmed to Fox News that the country's military authorities are retracting their assertion that a senior al Qaeda commander was killed in a recent drone operation in Syria. The Washington Post reported the story first. According to the Post, Lotfi Hassan Misto, 56, was recognised by his family as the victim of the American missile strike on May 3.

The operation was overseen by US Central Command, or CENTCOM, which said in a statement the day of the strike that it had carried out a strike "targeting a senior Al Qaeda leader." 

No more information was given, and the victim's identity remained a secret. Misto's family asserts that he was caring for his sheep when he was slain and that he had no connections to terrorist groups.

According to Misto's family, he was a father of 10 who quietly resided in a town in northwest Syria and lived in poverty for the majority of his life.... Read More: WION