The US military said on Tuesday that it killed five people in an airstrike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific, The Guardian reported. The Guardian's account, credited to its staff and agency copy, described the attack as the latest strike in the region.

According to The Guardian, Tuesday's strike was among more than 70 such attacks since the beginning of Donald Trump's second presidency. The Guardian attributed that count to media tallies rather than to an official figure.

An Associated Press report by Ben Finley, carried by PBS NewsHour, gave the same death toll of five and described the target as an "alleged drug smuggling boat" in the eastern Pacific.

PBS NewsHour reported that Trump has sought to justify the attacks by saying they stem the flow of drugs into the United States. The same report said critics have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes as well as their effectiveness.

The available summaries do not identify the people killed, name the vessel, or describe the evidence cited for the target. They also do not say how the tally of more than 70 attacks was compiled beyond the reference to media tallies, and the PBS NewsHour summary does not give a count of its own.

Sources: The Guardian: US military says strike on alleged drug vessel in eastern Pacific kills five people; PBS NewsHour: U.S. military says 5 were killed by a strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific.