Abbottabad operation was unlawful, says Amnesty

London: The US special operation in Pakistan's Abbottabad town in May last year that killed Osama bin Laden in his hideout appears to have been "unlawful" in the absence of clarification from the US, human rights group Amnesty International has said.

"The US administration made clear that the operation had been conducted under the US's theory of a global armed conflict between the US and Al Qaeda, in which the US does not recognise the applicability of international human rights law," Pakistan's Online news agency quoted the Amnesty report as saying.

"In the absence of further clarification from the US authorities, the killing of Osama bin Laden would appear to have been unlawful," it said.

The report also raised concern regarding US drone strikes inside Pakistani territory, which have killed many innocent civilians.