Amnesty International criticized the United States on Wednesday for its use of lethal force, particularly for the “unlawful” killing of Osama bin Laden in a clandestine US commando raid in Pakistan last May.

“The US administration made clear that the operation had been conducted under the USA’s theory of a global armed conflict between the USA and Al-Qaeda in which the USA does not recognize the applicability of international human rights law,” it said in its annual report.

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