Targeted killing is a form of assassination carried out by governments
outside a judicial procedure or a battlefield.
Since the late 20th century, the legal status of targeted killing has become a
subject of contention within and between various nations. Historically, at
least since the mid-eighteenth century, Western thinking has generally
considered the use of assassination as a tool of statecraft to be illegal.
Some academics, military personnel and officials describe targeted killing as
legitimate within the context of self-defense, when employed against
terrorists or combatants engaged in asymmetrical warfare.