US military says strike on vessel in Eastern Pacific kills three

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, ‌April 15 (Reuters) - ​The ​U.S. military said on Wednesday it struck a vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing three ‌people, in the Trump administration's latest strikes that ⁠have been condemned by human rights advocates.

The U.S. Southern Command ‌alleged that the vessel ‌was operated by "Designated Terrorist Organizations" that it did not identify.

It added that no U.S. military forces were ​harmed. It described those killed as "male narco-terrorists," without offering details.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along ⁠known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking ​operations," the U.S. Southern Command said on X.

The strike comes a day after the ​U.S. military said that another ‌of its strikes in the Eastern Pacific killed four people while a separate strike ⁠on Monday in the region had killed two.

President Donald Trump's administration has been striking vessels that it accuses of ⁠transporting narcotics.

The U.S. military's strikes on such vessels have killed ​more than 170 people since September.

Experts and human rights advocates, both in the U.S. and globally, have questioned the legality of ‌the strikes.

Human Rights Watch has said the strikes amount to "unlawful extrajudicial killings," while ‌the American Civil Liberties Union has cast the assertions ⁠by the Trump administration ‌against those it ​targets as "unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims."

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Kevin ‌Buckland)

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