A report issued Wednesday by the Pakistani government found that of the 2,227 people it says were killed in U.S. drone strikes since 2008, only 67 (3 percent) were civilians — a figure that has sparked criticism from groups that have investigated deaths from the attacks.

The figure, which was provided by Pakistan's Ministry of Defense to the country's Senate, is much lower than past government calculations and estimates by independent organizations, which have placed the number as high as 300 (13.5 percent).

The ministry said in its report (PDF) that 317 drone strikes had taken place since 2008, killing 2,160 "terrorists" and 67 civilians, referred to in the report as "shaheeds," or martyrs.

The Pakistani government said 21 civilians were killed in 2008, nine in 2009, two in 2010 and 35 in 2011. The report said no civilians were killed in 2012 or so far in 2013.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, based in London, has estimated that drones have killed at least 300 civilians in Pakistan since 2008; the Washington-based New America Foundation put the figure at 185. The estimates are often compiled based on media reports about the strikes.

The attacks, which the U.S. says are used to target suspected militants near the northwestern border with Afghanistan, are widely unpopular in Pakistan because they result in civilian deaths and are seen as a violation of the country's sovereignty.



Amnesty International called on the U.S. to investigate reports of civilians killed and wounded by drone strikes in Pakistan in a report released earlier this month that provided new details about alleged victims of the attacks.

One of those was 67-year-old Momina Bibi, who was killed while farming with her grandchildren. Earlier this week, a handful of U.S. congressional lawmakers heard directly from Bibi's grandchildren, who spoke about how their grandmother was thrown 20 feet and killed instantly after a drone strike in October 2012.