President Joe Biden on Friday formally issued new guidance curtailing the use of armed drones outside of war zones including Afghanistan as part of a new counterterrorism strategy that places a greater priority on protecting civilian lives.

According to AP’s report, the new policies require presidential approval before a suspected terrorist is added to the US government’s target list for potential lethal action, including drone strikes and special operations raids.

“President Biden’s formal counterterrorism guidance directs his administration to be discerning and agile in protecting Americans against evolving global terrorist challenges,” said White House Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall in a statement.

"Joe Biden is raising the issue of drone operations. There are two basic issues, one is the issue of focusing or paying attention to the US policy from the Islamic world towards Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific, and the second is the decrease of the US intelligence capabilities in those places,” said Salim Kakar, political analyst.

Currently, only Iraq and Syria still considered by the US to be so-called areas of active hostilities – or conventional war zones – the new policy is geared toward countries like Somalia, Yemen and now, Afghanistan, where the US continues to carry out counterterrorism strikes from afar.

"The US pays more attention to China and Russia and the war in Ukraine, and maybe Americans will interact with the Taliban and offer them concessions to use the Taliban's forces against the organizations the US labels quasi-terrorists," said Assadullah Nadim, military expert.

"This is a good move, although the UN Security Charter states that if land, air, or sea attacks occur in the sovereignty of any other country, the UN Security Council must decide," said Janat Fahim Chakari, political analyst.

Previously, drone attacks on Afghanistan and other non-combat zones were permitted by the US Department of Defense and the CIA.

The first drones were created after World War I, and the United States of America took the lead and made significant investments.