A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the US government should disclose sensitive and secret documents detailing its justification for the use of drones in killing people suspected of being terrorists.

Two reporters of the New York Times and the American Civil Liberties Union had brought the Freedom of Information Act case before the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals for adjudication, seeking the release of documents in which government lawyers discussed the secret "targeted-killing" program.

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Records showed that the petition was sought in September 2011, after a drone killed several US citizens believed to be terrorists in various parts of the globe.

The drone strike killed Anwar Al-Awlaki in Yemen, an Al-Qaida leader born in America, and Samir Khan, another US citizen.

The drone also killed Abdulrahman al-Awlaki and his teenage son, also a US citizen in October 2011.

Many human rights activities have complained about the United States' practice of killing suspected terrorists who are US citizens without the benefit of a trial.

The New York Times reporters said the US has been operating illegally, and that it is time to put a stop to the practice.

US District Court Judge, Colleen McMahon, had ruled on January 2013, that she had no legal basis to order the release of the documents, but admonished the government for refusing to disclose them.

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