John Kerry defends US drone strikes in war against Taliban

US Secretary of State John Kerry has defended the legality of US drone strikes in the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

The comments from top US diplomat come days after such an unmanned aircraft killed a top Pakistani Taliban.

According to the Express Tribune, Kerry, alongside his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle, told reporters that despite their first preference for detention and prosecution of terrorists sometimes, lethal action is necessary in order to protect US lives

He added that under domestic law and international law, the United States is at war with al Qaeda and the Taliban and their associated forces.

On Wednesday, a US drone strike killed the deputy chief of the Pakistani Taliban in the country's lawless tribal northwest.

Waliur Rehman, the number two in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction, died along with at least five others when an unmanned US drone fired two missiles on a house in North Waziristan district, the report added.