Our investigation into so-called ‘multiple kills’ shows that on average it takes the US three attempts before it successfully kills a high value target. In the process, hundreds of others are killed. For example, in attempting to kill Ayman al Zawahiri, the CIA killed 76 children and 29 adults, while totally failing to assassinate their target.
The Reprieve report “You Never Die Twice: Multiple Kills in the US Drone Program” (November 2014) provided the first estimate of the number of people – including children – killed each time the US attempts to assassinate a ‘high value target.’ For example, drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan have killed as many as 1,147 unknown people in failed attempts to kill just 41 named individuals.
