US Military Strikes 3 More Boats, Killing 8

The US military said Monday that it attacked three boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of eight people as scrutiny over the boat strikes is intensifying in Congress, the AP reports. The military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted "designated terrorist organizations," killing three people in the first vessel, two in the second boat, and three in the third boat. It didn't provide evidence of their alleged drug trafficking but posted a video of a boat moving through water before exploding.

President Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the US is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels. But the Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign, which has killed at least 95 people in 25 known strikes since early September, including a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit. The latest boat strikes come on the eve of briefings on Capitol Hill for all members of Congress as questions mount over the Trump administration's military campaign.