The US administration confirmed for the first time on Wednesday that four Americans have been killed in US drone strikes carried out in Pakistan and Yemen since 2009.
The American deaths in the drone strikes were confirmed in a letter written to the Senate judiciary committee by Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday, a day before President Barack Obama is due to make a major speech on his administration's counter-terrorism as well as drone programs.
In his letter, Holder identified the US nationals killed in the drone strikes as New Mexico-born radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son Abdulrahman, Samir Khan and Jude Kenan Mohammed.
Al-Awlaki was killed in a drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen. Samir Khan, an American of Pakistani origin, was killed in the same drone strike. Abdulrahman, who was born in Colorado, was killed in Yemen a month later. Incidentally, it was previously known that the three were killed in US drone strikes in Yemen.
Nevertheless, Holder's letter marked the first time that the US administration confirmed that Jude Kenan Mohammed from North Carolina was also killed in an American drone strike. Unconfirmed reports had suggested earlier that Mohammed was killed in a US drone strike in November 2011 in Pakistan's South Waziristan region.
Mohammed was one of eight men indicted by US federal authorities in 2009. He was accused of being part of a plot to attack the US Marine Corps base at Quantico, Virginia. Before he could be arrested, Mohammad fled the country to join jihadi fighters in Pakistan, where he was eventually killed by a US drone.
Although Holder admitted in his letter that Abdulrahman, Samir Khan and Mohammed were not specifically targeted by the US. He defended the drone strike that killed al-Awlaki by saying that the radical Islamic cleric had "repeatedly made clear his intent to attack US persons and his hope that these attacks would take American lives."
"Since entering office, the president has made clear his commitment to providing Congress and the American people with as much information as possible about our sensitive counter-terrorism operations. To this end, the president has directed me to disclose certain information that until now has been properly classified," Holder wrote in the letter.
"The administration is determined to continue these extensive outreach efforts to communicate with the American people," he added.
Notably, Obama is expected to pledge more transparency in the administration's counter-terrorism policy in his Thursday's speech on national security. Officials have indicated that Obama will also sign new 'Presidential Policy Guidance' on the US drone strikes later on Thursday.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Wednesday that the President "believes that we need to be as transparent about a matter like this as we can, understanding that there are national security implications to this issue and to the broader issues involved in counter-terrorism policy."
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