Pentagon knew boat attack left survivors but still launched a follow-on strike, AP sources say

By LISA MASCARO WASHINGTON AP The Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and the U S military still carried out a follow-up strike according to two people familiar with the matter Related Articles Modelo is toppled as No beer an unexpected casualty of Trump crackdown Academic society bans Larry Summers for life over his close ties to Jeffrey Epstein Trump proposal would weaken wagon mileage rules that limit air poisoning With Trump Accounts your baby could qualify for Here s what to know Immigration applications paused for those from high pitfall countries The rationale for the second strike was that it was needed to sink the vessel according to the people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren t authorized to discuss it publicly The Trump administration says all people aboard were killed What remains unclear was who ordered the strikes and whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was involved one of the people noted That will be part of a classified congressional briefing Thursday with the commander that the Trump administration says ordered the second strike Adm Frank Mitch Bradley Hegseth has defended the second strike as emerging in the fog of war saying he didn t see any survivors but also didn t stick around for the rest of the mission Hegseth is under growing scrutiny over the military strikes on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Legal experts and a few lawmakers say a strike that killed survivors would have violated the laws of armed conflict