The U.S. military killed four suspected drug traffickers on Thursday in its latest airstrike on an alleged drug-carrying vessel, the first destroyed since a news report revealed the Pentagon ordered a “double tap” strike on one boat to kill the remaining survivors.

The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications devices,

Legal experts call Pentagon's 'double tap' strike on shipwrecked survivors a textbook war crime, questioning military lawyer's role in operation.

The White House says the second strike on an alleged drugs boat was ordered by Admiral Frank Bradley, who acted lawfully.

The White House has confirmed a so-called "double tap" strike on an alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela. Now, lawmakers from both parties are demanding answers amid concerns that targeting survivors could constitute a war crime.

Senate Armed Services Committee gears up for hearings on controversial Caribbean strikes while Republicans remain divided on legality of such attacks on drug boats.

The White House argued that the "double tap" strike targeting the survivors of a U.S. strike on a purported drug smuggling vessel was legal.