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| UK jihadist Junaid Hussain killed in Syria drone strike, says US | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| A British man described as a "top cyber jihadist" has been killed in a military drone strike in Syria, US officials say. | A British man described as a "top cyber jihadist" has been killed in a military drone strike in Syria, US officials say. |
| They said Junaid Hussain, a convicted computer hacker from Birmingham who fled to Syria in 2013, aged 20, had been a "high-value target" within the Islamic State group. | |
| The US called it a serious blow to IS. | The US called it a serious blow to IS. |
| Michael McCaul, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said his death sent an "unmistakable message". | |
| "We need to maintain vigilance and good intelligence to stop future plotting, and ultimately we must destroy the group's terrorist sanctuary," Mr McCaul said. | |
| Armed Forces Day plot | |
| Earlier, a UK government spokesman said: "We are aware of reports that an Isil terrorist of British nationality is believed to have been killed in a coalition air strike in Syria." | |
| Hussain, a skilled computer hacker, was jailed for six months in 2012 for leaking former Prime Minister Tony Blair's private contacts online and making hoax calls to a counter-terror hotline. | |
| In June, the Sun newspaper reported Hussain was also linked to an IS plot to explode a pressure-cooker at an Armed Forces Day parade in London. | |
| He was also a known member of a computer hacking group known as Team Poison. | |
| The group have claimed responsibility for more than 1,400 offences where personal and private information has been illegally extracted from victims in the UK and around the world. | |
| It claimed to be behind online hacking attacks involving foreign politicians, major international businesses, and an international humanitarian agency. | |
| Analysis by Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent | |
| Hussain's activities made him a key target for the US military, who included him at number three on a Pentagon "kill list" of IS leaders. | |
| He became one of the most important western recruits for IS, playing a key role in radicalising and recruiting others to join the movement and plan attacks. | |
| Whitehall officials have said in the past that his actions caused them great concern and his death would be "significant". |