UK staunchly defends drone attacks on IS

Britain will not hesitate to carry out more deadly drone strikes against militants in Syria who are planning attacks on the United Kingdom, Defense Minister Michael Fallon said on Tuesday, as he defended the killing of British nationals fighting for the Islamic State.

Fallon spoke a day after Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament that a missile fired from a Royal Air Force drone had been used in August against three jihadis in Syria. Two Britons were among the dead in the attack on a vehicle in Raqqa.

One of those killed was Reyaad Khan from Cardiff, Wales, who Cameron said was plotting attacks against Britain. Two other Islamic State fighters were killed, including another Briton, Ruhul Amin.

The government will not hesitate to use drones to prevent attacks against Britain from coming to fruition, Fallon said.

"We wouldn't hesitate to do it again," Fallon told BBC Radio.

"If we know there's an armed attack likely, if we know who's involved in it, we have to do something about it."

Human rights groups and some lawyers criticized the decision to authorize the strike, saying the government needed to give details about what evidence it had that attacks were planned and to disclose the legal basis for the attack.

They said the action mimicked the controversial US drone strike policy and blurred the lines on what tactics Britain was prepared to use.

"The fact that David Cameron has bypassed Parliament to commit these covert strikes is deeply worrying - as is his refusal to share what legal advice he was given," said Kat Craig, a legal director at Reprieve, a rights advocacy group.

The opposition Labour Party said the decision should be subject to an independent review, and asked for more information on the legal advice the government had received.

Jeremy Corbyn, an anti-war protester and the favorite to be named as Labour's next leader on Saturday, said the decision needed to be given "urgent consideration".

Reuters - AP

(China Daily 09/09/2015 page10)