23.05.2013 09:24
The US government admitted publicly for the first time Wednesday that it had killed four US citizens in drone strikes outside war zones, dpa reported.
The US government admitted publicly for the first time Wednesday that it had killed four US citizens in drone strikes outside war zones, dpa reported. Attorney General Eric Holder's letter to Congress was released on the eve of a speech by President Barack Obama on national security and counter-terrorism, including US drone policy and the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Muslim militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was the first US citizen known to be targeted and killed by a US drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen. His son, ABD al-Rahman Anwar al-Awlaki, and Samir Khan, also US citizens, were later killed Yemen but had not been specifically targeted.
A fourth man, Jude Kenan Mohammed, was killed in Pakistan and was named for the first time in the letter, which was widely reported by US media.
The letter describes the killing of the elder al-Awlaki as a "lawful target" because he "posed a continuing and imminent threat of violent attack against the United States."
The Supreme Court allows military actions against terrorists on foreign soil even if they are US citizens, Holder said.