WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Friday that between 64 and 116 civilians have been killed by drone and other U.S. strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Africa since President Barack Obama took office in 2009.
But the administration's first such public assessment put the civilian death toll significantly lower than estimates by various human rights groups. These range as high as 1,100 killed.
Seeking to create a precedent for his successor, Obama also signed an executive order that details U.S. policies to limit civilian casualties and makes protecting civilians a central element in U.S. military operations planning.
The order requires an annual release of casualty estimates. It says the government should include "credible reporting" by non-government groups when it reviews strikes to determine if civilians were killed.
But the directive won't necessarily be binding on the next president, who could change the policy with an executive order of his or her own.
While sketchy details often emerge about individual drone strikes, the full scope of the U.S. drone program has long been shrouded from view. It is a key tool of Obama's counterterrorism strategy.
The civilian casualties disclosed do not reflect U.S. air attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria, countries deemed "areas of active hostilities."