An al-Qaeda operative is believed to have died in the latest attack, the fourth such strike this year in a sign that Washington is ratcheting up their use after a lull in 2012.

Analysts believe American forces will become even more reliant on the controversial programme as ground troops leave Afghanistan during the next two year.

In an interview with Reuters to promote his new memoir, Stanley McChrystal, who was forced to resign his post in 2010, said the overuse of drones could backfire, undermining America’s foreign policy goals.

“What scares me about drone strikes is how they are perceived around the world,” he said. “The resentment created by American use of unmanned strikes… is much greater than the average American appreciates.

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