WATCH: Hegseth says he ‘did not continue’ after ordering first boat strike on September 2

Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said Tuesday he learned of the second strike on an alleged drug boat on Sept. 2 two hours after giving the order for the first strike.

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“After the first hit, I moved on to my next meeting,” Hegseth said. “After a few hours, I learned that it was the commander who did it [decision]which he had full authority to do, and by the way, Admiral Bradley made the right decision to finally sink the boat and eliminate the threat.

He watches: “That second strike was a violation of the laws of war,” says a former senior military lawyer.

Nick Schiffrin, foreign affairs and defense correspondent for the PBS News Hour, reported Tuesday that, according to a US official, the US military on September 2 struck the boat four times: twice to kill the 11 people on board, and twice more to sink the boat.

White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said Monday that the military fired twice at an alleged drug boat on September 2, explaining that US Navy Vice Admiral Frank Bradley ordered the second strike. She said he “worked well within his authority and the law.”

Lawmakers from both parties expressed concerns that a raid on a suspected drug boat in early September may have violated the law after a report suggested the military fired a second time to kill survivors. Congressional committees say they will investigate the incident.

He watches: The White House says the United States fired twice at an alleged drug boat, raising bipartisan legal concerns

Hegseth defended the second strike decision, saying the Ministry of Defense collects detailed and “rigorous” information on every ship it attacks.

“We know who’s on it, what they’re doing, what they’re carrying,” he said. “All those white bales are not Christmas presents from Santa.” “These are drugs, on four speedboats or submarines that we also hit.”

The Trump administration has attacked at least 21 boats and killed more than 80 people as part of its campaign strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.