Must have shutterstock.com on image

Former British citizens killed by drone strikes after passports revoked

Under the coalition government 16 people have been stripped of their British citizenship - and 2 were then killed by drones.

Covert drone war – get the complete data

Data centre- Flickr/Cliff Dwelling

The Bureau's major databases and search engines of all known secret war strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

CIA tactics in Pakistan include targeting rescuers and funerals

Hellfire missiles being loaded onto a US military Reaper drone in Afghanistan

A Bureau investigation examines terror tactics used by CIA drones in Pakistan.

Latest reported US strikes: Pakistan June 7 & Yemen June 9

A US Reaper drone favoured by the CIA (General Atomics/ Flikr)

6-7 alleged militants killed in strike on Shawal. Up to 6 killed, possibly including boy aged 10, in strike on al-Jawf.

Latest Stories

May 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia
Purported drone wreckage - al Shabaab

The Bureau’s May update on US actions in the covert drone war.

White House briefings lay out new drone rulebook – but questions remain
May 24, 2013 | by | No Comments
White House (Michael Baird/ Flickr)

Signature strikes and CIA control of Pakistan drones likely until 2014, documents suggest

Obama frames covert drone war as necessary evil
May 23, 2013 | by | 2 Comments
Obama de Souza April 2013

Obama admits civilians have been killed in drone strikes.

Pakistani court rules CIA drone strikes are illegal
May 9, 2013 | by | No Comments
Shahzad Akbar copyright Chris Woods

‘Landmark’ judgment calls for Pakistani government to act against US drone strikes.

April 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper/cclark395 - Flickr

The Bureau’s April update on US actions in the covert drone war.

Protesters march against UK drones as MoD reveals ‘drone sharing’ with US
Photo copyright Sarah Baldwin

600 marched on air base as MoD reveals drone flights are already piloted from UK.

WATCH: Yemeni tells US Senate ‘drones are fuelling anti-Americanism’
April 24, 2013 | by | No Comments
Untitled 2

Farea al-Muslimi drew applause with emotive testimony at a rare Washington hearing on drones.

Red Cross chief urges caution over covert drones
April 18, 2013 | by | No Comments
ICRC President Peter Maurer © ICRC Thierry Gassmann / www.icrc.org

Comments come days after human rights groups wrote to Obama over drones.

Secret US documents show Brennan’s ‘no civilian drone deaths’ claim was false
April 11, 2013 | by | No Comments
Brennan swearing in CIA (WH)

Leaked intelligence documents provide insight into Pakistan drone strikes.

March 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia
April 2, 2013 | by | 2 Comments
An MQ-9 Reaper sits on a ramp in Afghanistan - US Air Force

The Bureau’s March update on US actions in the covert drone war.

In Video: Naming the Dead
March 26, 2013 | by | 2 Comments
shutterstock_116570707

Watch a short film clip about the Bureau’s new drone project – Naming the Dead.

Graphic new visualisation for CIA’s drone war in Pakistan
March 25, 2013 | by | 1 Comment
Out of sight grab

The scale and cost of the CIA’s drone war in Pakistan.

Pakistan government says ‘at least 400 civilians’ killed in drone strikes
March 15, 2013 | by | 7 Comments
Hellfire drone - stephenpend

Official Pakistan estimate closely matches Bureau’s drone data.

Erased US data shows 1 in 4 missiles in Afghan airstrikes now fired by drone
March 12, 2013 | by | 1 Comment
Reaper drone 2009

Drone data has been wiped from the Air Force website.

February 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia
March 1, 2013 | by | Comments Off
John Brennan Confirmation Hearing

The Bureau’s February update on US actions in the Covert War on Terror.

Former British citizens killed by drone strikes after passports revoked
February 27, 2013 | by | 14 Comments
Must have shutterstock.com on image

Under the coalition government 16 people have been stripped of their British citizenship – and 2 were then killed by drones.

No evidence Congressional committee does ‘utmost’ to follow up drone civilian death claims
February 27, 2013 | by | 2 Comments
The US Capitol (Photo l'ennui d'ennui/ Flickr)

Field investigators confirm they have never been contacted by Congressional committees over Pakistan drone deaths.

Incoming CIA boss says covert drone strikes are ‘last resort’
February 8, 2013 | by | Comments Off
Brennan and Obama February 18 2010 - Photo copyright the White House

Obama’s counter-terrorism chief defended drone strikes in a 3-hour hearing.

Naming the Dead: Bureau announces new drones project
February 4, 2013 | by | 6 Comments
Pakistani tribesmen offer funeral prayer -GettyImages

The Bureau aims to identify victims of CIA drone attacks in Pakistan.

January 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia
February 1, 2013 | by | Comments Off
Armed-Reaper-USAF

The Bureau’s January update on US actions in the Covert War on Terror.

Featured Stories

Emerging from the shadows: US covert drone strikes in 2012
MQ-9 Reeper at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada (USAF /Lance Cheung)

Civilian deaths down in Pakistan as strikes soar in Yemen.

UN launches major investigation into civilian drone deaths
January 24, 2013 | by | 2 Comments
Emmerson press conference - copyright Bureau of Investigative Journalism 2013

US, UK and Israel drone strikes to be examined, as latest Yemen attack kills two children.

Revealed: US and Britain launched 1,200 drone strikes in recent wars
December 4, 2012 | by | 3 Comments
A staff sergeant marshalls an MQ-9 Reaper after it returned from a mission Dec. 1, 2010, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Chad Chisholm)

New data from Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts shows escalating role of drones.

The Reaper Presidency: Obama’s 300th drone strike in Pakistan
TBIJ-Infographic-Obama-300-Carousel

Six times more CIA drone strikes in Pakistan under Obama than under Bush, according to Bureau data.

Drone strikes in Pakistan

Pakistani court rules CIA drone strikes are illegal
May 9, 2013 | by | No Comments
Shahzad Akbar copyright Chris Woods

'Landmark' judgment calls for Pakistani government to act against US drone strikes.

Secret US documents show Brennan’s ‘no civilian drone deaths’ claim was false
April 11, 2013 | by | No Comments
Brennan swearing in CIA (WH)

Leaked intelligence documents provide insight into Pakistan drone strikes.

Graphic new visualisation for CIA’s drone war in Pakistan
March 25, 2013 | by | 1 Comment
Out of sight grab

The scale and cost of the CIA's drone war in Pakistan.

Drone strikes in Yemen

WATCH: Yemeni tells US Senate ‘drones are fuelling anti-Americanism’
April 24, 2013 | by | No Comments
Untitled 2

Farea al-Muslimi drew applause with emotive testimony at a rare Washington hearing on drones.

Analysis: Holding US to account for civilian drone deaths in Yemen
September 7, 2012 | by | 4 Comments
A Yemeni MiG-21 being upgraded in the Ukraine 2010 (Photo used by kind permission of Leslia A. Rodger)

The challenges of accountability when airstrikes go wrong and civilians die in Yemen

Analysis: Al Qaeda ‘down but not out’, says top Yemen reporter
July 9, 2012 | by | 3 Comments
4

CNN's man in Sanaa tells us the problems of reporting on drone strikes in Yemen.

Drone strikes in Somalia

US and others have ‘licence to ignore international law’ in Somalia
September 24, 2012 | by | Comments Off
AU troops advance on Al Shabaab positions May 2012 (AU/ UN IST/ Stuart Price)

The Bureau unpicks the international forces operating in Somalia.

Militants and civilians killed in multiple US Somalia strikes
February 22, 2012 | by | 4 Comments
US Navy Seals in training (US Army/ Flickr)

Up to 21 US military strikes in Somalia since 2007 have killed as many as 169 people

Study shows up to 6 British extremists killed in Somalia
February 22, 2012 | by | Comments Off
UK military from RFA Fort Victoria board a suspect boat near Somalia (MoD/ Flikr)

Bureau research released as world leaders gather in London to discuss Somalia's fate.

Drone War

Pakistani court rules CIA drone strikes are illegal
May 9, 2013 | by | No Comments
Shahzad Akbar copyright Chris Woods

'Landmark' judgment calls for Pakistani government to act against US drone strikes.

Protesters march against UK drones as MoD reveals ‘drone sharing’ with US
Photo copyright Sarah Baldwin

600 marched on air base as MoD reveals drone flights are already piloted from UK.

Red Cross chief urges caution over covert drones
April 18, 2013 | by | No Comments
ICRC President Peter Maurer © ICRC Thierry Gassmann / www.icrc.org

Comments come days after human rights groups wrote to Obama over drones.

Monthly Updates on the Covert War

May 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia
Purported drone wreckage - al Shabaab

The Bureau’s May update on US actions in the covert drone war.

April 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper/cclark395 - Flickr

The Bureau’s April update on US actions in the covert drone war.

March 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia
April 2, 2013 | by | 2 Comments
An MQ-9 Reaper sits on a ramp in Afghanistan - US Air Force

The Bureau’s March update on US actions in the covert drone war.

Casualty Estimates

CIA Drone Strikes in Pakistan 2004–2013

Total US strikes: 370
Obama strikes: 318
Total reported killed: 2,548-3,549
Civilians reported killed: 411-884
Children reported killed: 168-197
Total reported injured: 1,177-1,480

US Covert Action in Yemen 2002–2013

Confirmed US drone strikes: 46-56

Total reported killed: 240-349
Civilians reported killed: 14-49
Children reported killed: 2
Reported injured: 62-144

Possible extra US drone strikes: 80-99

Total reported killed: 284-454
Civilians reported killed: 25-50
Children reported killed: 9-11
Reported injured: 78-101

All other US covert operations: 12-76

Total reported killed: 148-366
Civilians reported killed: 60-87
Children reported killed: 25
Reported injured: 22-111

US Covert Action in Somalia 2007–2013

US drone strikes: 3-9

Total reported killed: 7-27
Civilians reported killed: 0-15
Children reported killed: 0
Reported injured: 2-24

All other US covert operations: 7-14

Total reported killed: 47-143
Civilians reported killed: 7-42
Children reported killed: 1-3
Reported injured: 12-20

The Data

Covert Drone War - the Data
The databases of all known secret war strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

Methodology

The methodology behind the research on US drone attacks.

Drone Infographics

Yemen strikes visualised
July 2, 2012 | by | Comments Off
Bureau Visualisations - Emma Slater

A series of data sets on what the numbers mean.

Pakistan drone statistics visualised
July 2, 2012 | by | 6 Comments
Graph - Joakim Sorthe

Graphs of the Bureau's strike tally and casualty estimates from Pakistan.

Interactive timeline of all recorded CIA drone strikes
August 10, 2011 | by | Comments Off
Timeglider tall image

An interactive timeline of drone strikes in Pakistan between 2004 and the present date.

Interactive map
August 10, 2011 | by | 1 Comment
Globe - Flickr / joelthomas

This map details the locations of CIA drone strikes in the remote Pakistani tribal areas.

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