President Barack Obama addressed "legitimate criticism" regarding the legal architecture of his administration's policy on drone strikes. He admitted that there was "no doubt civilians were killed that shouldn't have been," but stated that the United States attempts to avoid striking areas near normal civilian populations. Pool photo by Andrew Harrer/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama defended his administration's policy Friday on using drone strikes to target terrorist leaders and camps.

While speaking at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington Obama acknowledged the "legitimate criticism" the legal architecture surrounding drone strikes contributed to the death of civilians.


"It wasn't as precise as it should have been, and there's no doubt civilians were killed that shouldn't have been," he said at a news conference following the summit. "We have to take responsibility where we're not acting appropriately, or just made mistakes."

Obama said new guidelines for strikes against the Islamic State ensure that they do not take place near areas where women, children and other civilians are located.

"What I can say with great confidence is that our operating procedures are as rigorous as they have ever been and that there is a constant evaluation of precisely what we do," he said.

The president's statements came after a drone strike Thursday that targeted senior terrorist leader Hassan Ali Dhoore in Somalia.

"In addition to being part of al-Qaida, Hassan Ali Dhoore was a member of al-Shabab's Amniyat (security and intelligence) wing and was heavily involved in high profile attack planning in Mogadishu," a Pentagon statement said.

Officials were still determining if Dhoore had been killed in the strike and said his death would be a "significant blow" to his group's future terror attacks.