Since 2004, the Pentagon has used broad, secret authority to carry out about 12 attacks against Al-Qaida and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, The New York Times reported on its website on Sunday.

Quoting what it said were more than six unnamed military and intelligence officials and senior Bush administration policy makers, the newspaper said the military operations were authorized by a classified order signed by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with the approval of President George W. Bush.

Under the order, the military had new authority to strike the Al-Qaida network anywhere in the world and a broader mandate to conduct operations in countries not at war with the US, according to the Times.