But the senior U.S. official said the research was suspect in part because it relied on information from a questionable source.
"One of the loudest voices claiming all these civilian casualties is a Pakistani lawyer who's pushing a lawsuit to stop operations against some of the most dangerous terrorists on the planet," the official said.
"His evidence, if you can call it that, comes from a press release. His publicity is designed to put targets on the backs of Americans serving in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His agenda is crystal clear."
While the official did not name the Pakistani lawyer, it was believed to be Shahzad Akbar - who is suing the CIA to stop the drone strikes. But the journalism organization called Akbar "a single source among many on only 10 strikes of some 291 the Bureau examines."
"Where Mr. Akbar's information is contradicted by other sources, we make that overtly clear in our research," Overton said. "To suggest, as U.S. counterterrorism officials are, that he is a 'major source' for our data is simply untrue."
Akbar told CNN on Friday that he met three times with one of the group's journalists, who reached out to him to cross-check statistics on drone strikes. He dismissed allegations that his work was suspect.
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