Under intense pressure from Capitol Hill to provide a legal rationale for the unprecedented killing of 11 alleged drug smugglers by the US military, the Trump administration has so far ducked lawmakers and provided a mishmash of public justifications that raise serious questions about the legality of the strike, legal experts and congressional sources say.

The Defense Department on Friday abruptly canceled classified briefings it was set to provide in the morning to several key House and Senate committees, two people familiar with the matter told CNN. Lawmakers and staffers had hoped to ask officials questions about the legal justification for the strike, and even get basic details like which military unit conducted the attack, what type of munition was used and the kind of intelligence

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