Newswire21.org

The US and its allies have carried out a rising number of secret military strikes against terrorist networks in Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan and some former Soviet countries, according to a report published this weekend.

The New York Times said the Obama administration has expanded operations that began under President Bush, transforming the CIA into a virtual paramilitary organization that work with US allies and contractors.

The strikes included an airstrike against Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen during late May that killed Marib Provence's deputy governor, a respected leader who Yemeni's said had been trying to persuade Qaeda members to abandon their campaign. Yemeni President Ali Abdulla Saleh accepted responsibility for the attack and, according to the newspaper, paid blood money to offended tribesmen.

The article goes on to point out political risks attached to such operations, including the potential denial of Geneva Convention protections to allied soldiers and weakened Congressional oversight.

The report came as a suspected US missile strike killed 12 people in Pakistan who were identified as militants eager to drive Western forces out of neighboring Afghanistan.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, militants killed 16 people in two incidents. In one attack, a group of people painting a house were attacked while in another, a bus was the target.