Surgical Strike Law and Legal Definition
Surgical Strike is an attack usually without prior warning intended to deal only with a specific target. Generally this is an attack using guided weapons to hit one specific building, with minimal damage to the surrounding area.
Surgical strikes are often employed in urban warfare and counter-terrorism operations. Use of precision guided weapons minimizes collateral damage and civilian casualties. The importance of surgical strikes was emphasized by the United States Department of Defense during the Gulf War, and was used to emphasize the contrast of these "one bomb, one target" attacks with the slash and burn techniques utilized by aerial bombardment since World War II.
