Civilians may have been killed in latest US drone strike on al-Qaida in Syria

ivilians may have been killed in the latest U.S. drone strike against a “senior al-Qaida leader and planner” in Syria, officials from U.S. Central Command acknowledged.

The Tampa, Florida-based command is investigating the incident, officials said.

“We abhor the loss of innocent life and take all possible measures to prevent them,” said Navy Capt. Bill Urban, CENTCOM’s chief spokesman, in a statement about the Dec. 3 attack by an MQ-9 “Reaper” drone. “The possibility of a civilian casualty was immediately self-reported to U.S. Central Command. We are initiating a full investigation of the allegations and will release the results when appropriate.”

The individual targeted was killed, Lt. Col. Karen Roxberry, a CENTCOM spokesperson, said in a message to Military Times.