U.S. drones strikes in Pakistan often draw protests calling for an end to the deadly program. Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images

Faced with mounting criticism over its use of drone strikes abroad, the White House responded Tuesday by saying its drone program falls within the bounds of international law and helps keep the United States safe.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama's administration was still reviewing an Amnesty International report released earlier Tuesday about civilian victims of unmanned-aircraft attacks in Pakistan. Carney said there is a wide gap between the White House's analysis and the report's findings on the number of civilians killed.

Carney also refuted claims made in the report that the United States had violated international law by indiscriminately killing civilians. He said that whenever a drone strike is planned, there must be "near certainty" that no civilians will be killed.

The White House's defense comes as Amnesty International and another organization, Human Rights Watch — along with the United Nations and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif — have all called into question the CIA's use of drones and the intense secrecy surrounding the program.

The Amnesty International report reviewed 45 drone strikes in North Waziristan and surrounding regions in Pakistan in 2012 and 2013. The area is considered a hotbed of Al-Qaeda activity and is the most targeted location in the world for drone strikes. The Human Rights Watch report details the circumstances and aftermath of six drone strikes in Yemen, where drones are used less frequently than in Pakistan.