Story highlights The uptick in airstrikes in Yemen is a sign of this new Pentagon authority

Critics have expressed concerns about mission creep and escalation

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump has granted the Pentagon additional authority to carry out counterterrorism missions in Yemen and the White House is talking to the Pentagon about providing similar leeway in Libya and Somalia as terror activities there grow, a US defense official told CNN Monday.

The authority gives military commanders more freedom to carry out missions in order to achieve "a strategic effect" -- that is, a broader military goal agreed upon by the President -- as opposed to needing approval for each strike and raid on a case-by-case basis.

The expanded authority is being weighed amid a resurgence of terror groups in the three countries.

The proposed changes come as the CIA carried out a February drone strike against Abu al Khayr al-Masri, al Qaeda's second-in-command, signaling that the intelligence agency could once again become a major player in targeted strikes.

The Obama administration had previously sought to shift responsibility for drone strikes from the intelligence community to the military. The CIA provided the intelligence and expertise for some attacks but the military carried out the strikes.

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