U.S. President Barack Obama has outlined a new policy in the controversial use of drones to kill suspected terrorists. Drones are unmanned aircraft that can be controlled from the U.S. as well as from bases in or near war zones. Both the U.S. military and the CIA use drones in their operations. Around 800 drone strikes have taken place in Afghanistan in the past two years. The CIA's use of drones is shrouded in secrecy. Experts believe the agency has conducted around 350 drone strikes in Pakistan and fewer than 100 in Yemen and Somalia since 2004. Around 3,000 people have been killed by drones since 2004. The New America Foundation estimates that roughly 21 per cent of those killed were civilians.

President Obama said the U.S. would now only use drone strikes as a last resort, when there is a "continuing and imminent" threat to the American people, and that there must be "near certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured". Kenneth Roth from Human Rights Watch said: "A mere promise that the US will work within established guidelines that remain secret provides little confidence that [it] is complying with international law." Shahzad Akbar, a Pakistani lawyer working for drone victims' families, said: "The problem remains the same because there is no transparency and accountability for the CIA because it will remain inside the system and not be visible to outsiders."