US military says five killed in strike on alleged drug boats

The latest strike comes as the US Coast Guard searches for survivors of another that happened a day earlier.

Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationWatch DocumentariesTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthWatch DocumentariesNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveUS military says five killed in latest strike on alleged drug boats5 hours agoShareSaveVanessa BuschschlüterShareSaveUS Southern CommandA screengrab from a video posted by US Southern Command shows a small vessel in the sea with what appears to be debris floating nearby.The US military says it struck two boats it alleges were carrying drugs on Wednesday, killing five people on board.

US Southern Command did not say where it had carried out the latest strikes but US forces have been targeting vessels they suspect of smuggling narcotics to the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific for the past three months.

Wednesday's strike came a day after the US targeted what it said were "three narco-trafficking vessels travelling as a convoy", killing at least three people.

The Trump administration has cast its operations as a non-international armed conflict with the alleged traffickers but legal experts say they could be in violation of the laws governing such conflict.

In total, there have been more than 30 strikes on vessels as part of the Trump administration's "war on drugs" with more than 110 people killed since the US carried out its first attack on a boat in international waters on 2 September.