U.S. military strikes another alleged narcoboat, killing 4, as probe into the first attack begins


Three men walking
U.S. navy Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley, center, and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, are escorted to a classified briefing in Washington on Thursday, as lawmakers investigate how Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth handled a Sept. 2 military strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat. (J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press)

The U.S. military said it had conducted another strike against a small boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, following a pause of almost three weeks.

It is the 22nd such strike against boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that the Trump administration claimed were trafficking drugs.

There were four casualties, according to the social media post, bringing the death toll of the campaign to at least 87 people.

In a video that accompanied the announcement, a small boat can be seen moving across the water before it is suddenly consumed by a large explosion. The video then zooms out to show the boat covered in flames and billowing smoke.

The strike was conducted the same day Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley appeared for a series of closed-door briefings at the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers began an investigation into the very first strike, carried out by the military on Sept. 2. The sessions came after a report that Bradley ordered an immediate follow-up attack that killed the survivors to comply with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s demands.

Bradley told lawmakers there was no “kill them all” order from Hegseth, but a stark video of the entire series of attacks left some lawmakers with serious questions.

Legal experts have said killing survivors of a strike at sea could be a violation of the laws of military warfare.

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-military-strikes-boat-9.7003958

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