Experts urge release of boat strike video as US admiral denies 'kill them all' order

Democrat Jim Himes calls footage ‘one of the most troubling scenes’ he’s observed in public service

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House. File picture: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Top Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Congress on Thursday said that the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, had not ordered the military to kill surviving members of a a deadly attack on a boat alleged to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean, but differed over whether the double strike was appropriate.

The allegation that Hegseth ordered the killing of survivors sparked bipartisan concern in Washington that he or others involved may have committed a war crime.