Covert Drone War

Tracking CIA drone strikes and other US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. Find details of the latest strikes with the full data here.

Areas of investigation

Drone strikes in Pakistan

Stories related to drone strikes in Pakistan.

Drone strikes in Yemen

Drone strikes and covert operations in Yemen.

Drone Warfare

The evolving international use of armed drones.

Get the data: Drone wars

The Bureau’s complete data sets on drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

US covert actions in Somalia

Stories related to drone strikes in Somalia.

US strikes in Afghanistan

Drone and air strikes in Afghanistan (Photo: US Navy).

Latest from this investigation

British Tornado jets on the tarmac at RAF Ascension Island (Picture Crown Copyright)

Army moves Watchkeeper drone training to tropics for winter after flying problems in UK weather

December 11, 2015 by Jack Serle - 1 Comment

Watchkeeper drones will be sent to Ascension Island’s RAF base for next eight months (Crown Copyright) The Army has moved to accelerate the training of pilots for its £1.2bn Watchkeeper spy drones by sending them to the tropical Ascension Island for the … Continued

General John Campbell briefs the Pentagon and Kabul press corps with a summary of the findings of the investigation into the October 3 Kunduz hospital strike

US drone war, November 2015: American troops in Afghanistan and Somalia supported by new strikes

December 1, 2015 by Jack Serle and Abigail Fielding-Smith - 1 Comment

The November update on the US covert war on terror from the Bureau.

Kunduz, Afghanistan, October 14, 2015 The aftermath of the U.S. airstrike on the Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) hospital in Kunduz that took place on October 3 that killed 22 people. The main hospital building, housing the emergency room, blood bank, intensive care unit, and out patient department, was heavily bombed in near continuous barrage for more than one hour, according to witnesses. Today MSF announced they had requested that the the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission be activated to investigate the bombing. (Photo: Victor Blue/MSF)

At least 80 US airstrikes hit Afghanistan in October: The White House’s covert drone and air war – monthly update

November 2, 2015 by Jack Serle - No comments

A monthly update on events in the US covert war in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia

Podcast: US whistleblower Brandon Bryant on Germany’s role in America’s drone wars

October 15, 2015 by Abigail Fielding-Smith - No comments

Former drone operator Brandon Bryant tells the Bureau about what he saw of it during his time with the Air Force.

Image shows a 4 man team from 43 Battery, 47 Regiment, Royal Artillery, led by Corporal Si Downey assembling a Watchkeeper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, 23rd September 2014. The Ministry of Defence has announced that the Army’s next generation of Unmanned Air System (UAS), Watchkeeper, is now fully operational in Afghanistan. This new capability is providing force protection for British troops as they prepare to draw down from Afghanistan by the end of this year. Footage released today shows Watchkeeper carrying out surveillance tasks and gaining situational awareness via its cutting edge cameras and radar capability, a new asset for the UK’s Armed Forces. Credit should read: Cpl Mark Larner RY

PODCAST: How Scavenger drone became Protector – and why Watchkeeper ‘not value for money’

October 12, 2015 by Jack Serle - No comments

Picture: MoD/Cpl Mark Larner In this week’s Drone News, Jack Serle and the Guardian’s Alice Ross discuss the Bureau’s investigation into Watchkeeper, the British Army’s “affordable” £1.2bn drone, which was published with the Guardian earlier this month. The podcast also … Continued