Your trusted source

The New York Court of Appeals has ordered the US government to publicly disclose classified documents describing its legal justification for using drones overseas to kill alleged terrorists, including US citizens, RIA Novosti reported.

Monday’s court ruling was hailed by human rights activists from the American Civil Liberties Union and two reporters for The New York Times that had filed requests for the release in 2011.

The requests came after drone strikes against al-Qaeda in Yemen in September 2011 killed US-born Anwar Al-Awlaki and another US citizen, Samir Khan. A subsequent attack in October that year claimed the life of al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son, also a US citizen.

Some legal experts insist that targeted killings of US-born citizens overseas and away from any conventional battlefield is illegal.

In January 2013, the court ruled that it had no authority to demand that the documents be made public. Monday’s decision largely reversed the earlier ruling, suggesting the disclosure of the secret files could no longer be prevented.

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles is one of the most sensitive issues in Washington. The Obama administration has repeatedly come under sharp criticism over its drone operations, which quite often lead to civilian deaths.

The US launched its drone campaign under George W. Bush in 2004. According to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, up to 3,613 people, including at least 416 civilians, have been killed in the strikes.

In December, the United Nations passed a resolution urging the US use of drone strikes for counterterrorism in foreign territories to comply with international law, underscoring the need for an agreement among member states on legal questions about drone operations.