U.S. military strikes boat in eastern Pacific, killing 3

The U.S. military has struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing three people, in what officials described as part of an ongoing campaign against suspected drug-smuggling boats.

U.S.

Southern Command said the vessel was hit on Tuesday and that no U.S. military forces were harmed.

It said intelligence had confirmed the boat was travelling along known narco-trafficking routes and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.

The command described those killed as "male narco-terrorists" and said the vessel was operated by designated terrorist organisations, without identifying them.

It did not provide further details or evidence to support the claim.

The strike is the latest in a series of attacks on suspected narcotics vessels, and it came a day after a similar boat strike in the Caribbean Sea killed two people.

The latest incident adds to scrutiny of the campaign as it expands across maritime routes.

Rights groups have criticised the operations, describing them as unlawful extrajudicial killings and questioning the evidence used to justify them.

The administration has said the strikes are aimed at what it calls narcoterrorism.

According to the supplied reports, more than 190 people have been killed in such strikes since September.

The figures and the pace of the campaign have intensified debate over the legality of the operations.

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