Initial survivors of double-tap strike didn’t have radio backup: report
Story by Simon Crerar, Newsweek, December 5, 2025
Two men killed in a controversial “double-tap” U.S. military strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in September did not appear to have a radio or any other means of communication, the senior commander overseeing the operation told lawmakers.
Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who ran Joint Special Operations Command at the time, delivered the update in closed-door briefings viewed by lawmakers from both parties.
His account, reported by CNN and published Thursday, undercuts earlier private briefings where defense officials suggested the survivors were attempting to “radio for help.”
Why It Matters
Bradley’s acknowledgement that the survivors could not call for reinforcements removes the central claim previously used to argue they were still legitimate targets. CNN quoted one source familiar with Thursday’s briefing who described the rationale for the second strike as “f**king insane.”
The shift adds to weeks of evolving explanations from the current administration.
Newsweek has reported that Pentagon officials were aware survivors remained alive before the follow-up strike was ordered, citing sources who said surveillance footage showed the men clearly visible on the wreckage.
The Pentagon’s law-of-war manual states that killing shipwrecked people who are “in need of assistance and care” and refraining from hostile acts is prohibited, fueling scrutiny over whether the second strike violated those standards.
Speaking to CNN‘s Jake Tapper, Democratic Rep. Jim Himes said the video was “enormously disturbing” and in his view amounted to a war crime. “According to the manual… you do not kill them [shipwrecked sailors] because they are out of combat, incapable of further hostilities. And doing so is a war crime. I want to be careful of my language, we didn’t get the audio, but that’s sure what it looked like to me.”
Initial survivors of double-tap strike didn’t have radio backup: report |
