A US Navy admiral testified that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give the order to 'kill them all' during a controversial second US military strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, multiple lawmakers have said.
The affirmations by Democratic and Republican lawmakers were made after viewing footage of the 2 September double-strike incident and hearing from Adm Frank Bradley in closed-door hearings.
The briefing before members of the House of Representatives and later the Senate came as questions continued around the legality of military force used against suspected drug boats.
The White House has said Adm Bradley was responsible for the strikes and that he acted within the law.
Adm Bradley 'did the right thing', said Democratic congressman Jim Himes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, after he heard from the admiral and viewed the video.
'But what I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service,' Himes said.
'Yes, they were carrying drugs. They were not in the position to continue their mission in any way,' he added.
After the briefing, Representative Adam Smith, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, released a joint statement with Himes calling for the video to be released publicly.
'The briefing left us with more questions than answers, and Congress must continue to investigate this matter and conduct oversight,' they said.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Adm Bradley and Hegseth 'did exactly what we would expect them to do'.
'I saw two survivors trying to flip a boat loaded with drugs bound to the United States back over so they could stay in the fight,' Cotton said.
Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat, said in a statement he was 'disturbed' by what he saw, adding that his party would continue to investigate the incident.
The revelation that there were two strikes when the first left survivors has raised new questions over the legality of the administration's deadly ongoing campaign against boats, due to what the rules of conflict say about targeting wounded combatants.
US President Donald Trump has said he has 'no problem' with video of the second strike being made public. Footage of the first strike has already been released.
Adm Bradley is yet to give any public comment on the matter. One of the dozens of people who have been killed in the ongoing US strikes is believed to be Alejandro Carranza, a Colombian, who was last seen on 14 September.
