US defence secretary Pete Hegseth cited the “fog of war” in defending a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the Caribbean Sea earlier this year.

Speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Mr Hegseth said he did not see there were survivors in the water when the second strike was ordered and launched in early September, saying that “the thing was on fire” and citing the “fog of war” in defending the strike.

Mr Hegseth also said he “didn’t stick around” for the remainder of the mission following the first strike, and that the admiral in charge had “made the right call” in ordering it, which he “had complete authority to do”.

The Washington Post first reported that Mr Hegseth had issued a verbal order for the second strike that killed survivors on the boat.

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