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By LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon knew there have been survivors after a September assault on an alleged drug boat within the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. army nonetheless carried out a follow-up strike, based on two folks accustomed to the matter.
The rationale for the second strike was that it was wanted to sink the vessel, based on the folks accustomed to the matter who spoke on the situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to debate it publicly. The Trump administration says all 11 folks aboard have been killed.
What stays unclear was who ordered the strikes and whether or not Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth was concerned, one of many folks mentioned. That will likely be a part of a categorized congressional briefing Thursday with the commander that the Trump administration says ordered the second strike, Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley.
Hegseth has defended the second strike as rising within the “fog of battle,” saying he didn’t see any survivors but additionally “didn’t stick round” for the remainder of the mission.
Hegseth is below rising scrutiny over the army strikes on alleged drug traffickers within the Caribbean and japanese Pacific. Authorized specialists and a few lawmakers say a strike that killed survivors would have violated the legal guidelines of armed battle.
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