The report applies only to U.S. military operations, including those by special operations forces — not those conducted by the CIA.

"In all cases we are focused on those al-Qaida members and affiliates who pose a direct threat to the United States and to our national interests," Pentagon press secretary George Little said after the report's release. "This report contains information about these operations owing to their growing significance in our overall counterterrorism effort."

The report does not provide details of any military operations in either Yemen or Somalia. It merely acknowledges they have happened. Killings of terror suspects overseas are acknowledged by the administration, but it does not mention the involvement of drones. The CIA and military have separate drone fleets.

The decision by President Barack Obama to declassify the existence of the counterterror actions in those two countries amounts an incremental move toward greater openness about the use of U.S.