Hegseth orders new strike that kills 4 on alleged drug boat amid ‘double tap’ controversy
Four killed in another US strike on alleged drug boat
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a military strike on an alleged drug boat in international waters on Thursday, killing four and increasing total fatalities to 86
- The vessel, operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization, was confirmed to be carrying illicit narcotics along a known trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific.
- The strike occurred shortly after Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley briefed House and Senate committees on previous “double tap” strikes conducted on September 2.
- Defending the second strike on Tuesday, Hegseth said it took place within “the fog of war” and added that Bradley acted “within his authority and the law.”
- Democratic Rep. Jim Himes, a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, described the footage shown to lawmakers as “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service”.