Counterterrorism

Obama Urged to Arm CIA Drones to Kill ISIS Targets

A dispute is playing out in Washington over whether the CIA should be using armed drones to kill ISIS' leader, NBC News has learned.

President Obama has ordered that the military, not the CIA, use drones to track and kill high-value ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria, with the CIA using its own drones for intelligence gathering.

But that arrangement has resulted in some missed opportunities to kill top ISIS operatives, U.S. officials tell NBC News.

Now, the leaders of the Senate intelligence committee are secretly urging Obama to reconsider and allow CIA drones to be armed.