REVEALED: CIA 'using magic dust' to target drone strikes against Islamic terrorists

THE CIA is using a 'magic dust' to target militant extremism in drone strikes in order to cut civilian deaths, it has been sensationally claimed.

Protests against US drone strikes in PakistanGETTY

Protests against US drone strikes in Pakistan

According to a report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ), some sources in the Pakistani city of Peshawar believe that the US is utilising a special dust in order to target vehicles associated with Islamic extremism.

The dust - which is invisible to the human eye - can be brushed or sprayed onto a vehicle and has served to cut the number of civilian deaths as a result, according to BBC veteran journalist Owen Bennett Jones, who specialises in Pakistani politics.

Once the vehicle is away from civilians, drones can then open fire.

He explained: "According to the rumour mill in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, the US now has some kind of dust that can be sprayed or brushed onto a vehicle. 

"Invisible to the human eye, the dust can be seen by drones that can then fire on the vehicle once it is in an isolated area away from civilians."

When asked about the dust by the Bureau, a former UK drone programme operative refused to discuss how the technology worked – insisting it was too sensitive.

However they did not deny the existence of the dust.

Drones – unmanned aircraft – are used to target suspected militants in areas considered too risky or difficult for manned flight.

The aircraft can stay in the air for up to 17 hours and send back real-time imagery, as well as conducting air strikes.

The exact number of civilians killed by drones has been the subject of debate, but according to the BIJ, between 416 and 953 died in US strikes before May 2013.

The dust - which is invisible to the human eye - can be brushed or sprayed onto a vehicle

Amnesty International claimed that a number of victims were unarmed and that some strikes could amount to war crimes.

Pakistan's Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has repeatedly condemned the strikes.

In October 2013, he said: "The use of drones is not only a continual violation of our territorial integrity but also detrimental to our resolve and efforts at eliminating terrorism from our country."

Following criticism of the rising civilian death toll from drone strikes, US President Barack Obama vowed that the hits would not be authorised unless there was "near certainty that no civilians would be killed or injured".

There was a significant decrease in civilian casualties following Mr Obama's pledge.

Locals examine the rubble of a building destroyed by a droneGETTY

Locals examine the rubble of a building destroyed by a drone

The BIJ suggested that the drop in deaths was also partly due to improvements in drone technology.

The unmanned aircraft can now remain airborne for longer and carry missiles with smaller explosive yields.

Despite this, the use of drones still remains highly contentious.

Human rights charity Reprieve describes the US drone programme as "the death penalty without trial, and the new face of US counter-terrorism policy".

The charity says: "Like Guantanamo Bay, the drones programme initially attracted little opposition because its victims were presented as the ‘worst of the worst’. 

"In fact, the CIA’s error rate is at least as bad as at Guantánamo Bay, and victims are never given a chance to defend themselves.

"Reprieve is working to expose the truth about the drone strikes – that they kill and maim civilians, and that they radicalise the formerly moderate, swelling the numbers of those who wish to harm Western states."

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