US to disclose casualty count from counterterrorism strikes
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration plans to disclose how many people have been killed by US drones and counterterrorism strikes since 2009, the White House said Monday, in a bid to bolster credibility for the controversial programs.
An assessment to be released in the coming weeks will cover both combatants and civilians the US believes have died as a result of strikes from the skies since President Barack Obama took office. It won't cover areas of "active hostilities" like Iraq and Syria, where US airstrikes are targeting the Islamic State, or Afghanistan. Instead, the report aims to illustrate the fatal toll of other US actions overseas to go after disparate terrorism threats.
In recent years, the US has conducted counterterrorism strikes in Pakistan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia, among other places.
