US says 4 Americans were killed in counterterrorism ops

Attorney General Eric Holder said on Wednesday that the United States has killed four Americans in counterterrorism operations, three of whom were not targets of the strikes involving drones in Yemen and elsewhere.

Holder named the four dead US citizens in a letter to members of Congress one day before President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver an address on the use of drones. The letter defends the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the one dead American who was an intended target of a drone strike, the letter said. (Reuters)