Survivors of U.S. military strike in Caribbean were legitimate targets for second attack, admiral to tell lawmakers

By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) – A U.S. military commander is expected tell lawmakers on Thursday that survivors of a military strike in the Caribbean were legitimate targets for a second attack because their vessel was still believed to contain illegal narcotics, a U.S. official told Reuters.

On September 2, the U.S. military carried out a strike in the Caribbean which killed 11 suspected drug traffickers.

Officials have said that the U.S. military carried out a second strike against their vessel, which has raised questions about the legality of the operation.

Admiral Frank M. Bradley, who was the head of Joint Special Operations Command at the time, will tell lawmakers in a classified briefing on Thursday that the two survivors were legitimate military tar