Throughout the Syrian War, the US has claimed massive death tolls among leaders of the “Khorasan” faction of al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front. In October, officials conceded the early attacks failed, and almost immediately thereafter claimed David Drungeon, a top French “bomb maker,” was killed in a drone strike.
The story of Drungeon’s suddenly becoming a “top bomb maker” was extremely dubious, but officials figured he was killed, and slain al-Qaeda members have a way of being posthumously promoted by the US.
Only Drungeon isn’t dead, officials are now admitting. They think he was “seriously injured” but survived the drone strike, and he is believed to have since recovered.
Drungeon’s death was of particular PR value to Western officials as a convert to Islam who was slain overseas. His survival serves as further embarrassment to a US war in Syria which has gone poorly from the start.