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| Two Britons killed in RAF Syria strike, PM tells MPs | Two Britons killed in RAF Syria strike, PM tells MPs |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two UK Islamic State fighters who died in Syria were killed by an RAF drone strike, David Cameron has told MPs. | |
| Cardiff-born Reyaad Khan and Ruhul Amin, from Aberdeen, died last month in Raqqa, alongside another fighter, the PM said - in the first targeted UK drone attack on British citizens. | |
| Khan, 21, had been plotting "barbaric" attacks on British soil, he said. | Khan, 21, had been plotting "barbaric" attacks on British soil, he said. |
| The "act of self defence" was lawful, Mr Cameron said, despite MPs previously ruling out UK military action in Syria. | The "act of self defence" was lawful, Mr Cameron said, despite MPs previously ruling out UK military action in Syria. |
| Khan was killed in a precision strike by a remotely piloted aircraft, "after meticulous planning", while he was travelling in a vehicle, the prime minister said. | Khan was killed in a precision strike by a remotely piloted aircraft, "after meticulous planning", while he was travelling in a vehicle, the prime minister said. |
| Another British national, Junaid Hussain, from Birmingham, was killed in a separate air strike by US forces in Raqqa on 24 August, the prime minister confirmed. | |
| Both had been planning to attack "high-profile public commemorations" taking place in the UK this summer, he said. | |
| The attorney general had been consulted and agreed there was a "clear legal basis" for it, Mr Cameron added. | The attorney general had been consulted and agreed there was a "clear legal basis" for it, Mr Cameron added. |
| Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman urged the government to publish the legal advice. | Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman urged the government to publish the legal advice. |
| Two years ago MPs rejected possible UK military action in Syria, but last September approved British participation in air strikes against IS targets in Iraq only. | Two years ago MPs rejected possible UK military action in Syria, but last September approved British participation in air strikes against IS targets in Iraq only. |
| However, officials said the UK would "act immediately [in Syria] and explain to Parliament afterwards" if there was "a critical British national interest at stake". | However, officials said the UK would "act immediately [in Syria] and explain to Parliament afterwards" if there was "a critical British national interest at stake". |
| 'Directing murder' | |
| In his statement to the Commons, Mr Cameron said: "My first duty as prime minister is to keep the British people safe. | In his statement to the Commons, Mr Cameron said: "My first duty as prime minister is to keep the British people safe. |
| "There was a terrorist directing murder on our streets and no other means to stop him. | "There was a terrorist directing murder on our streets and no other means to stop him. |
| "This government does not for one moment take these decisions lightly. | "This government does not for one moment take these decisions lightly. |
| "But I am not prepared to stand here in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on our streets and have to explain to the House why I did not take the chance to prevent it when I could have done." | "But I am not prepared to stand here in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on our streets and have to explain to the House why I did not take the chance to prevent it when I could have done." |
| Analysis | Analysis |
| By BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale | By BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale |
| Unmanned Reaper drones joined RAF Tornado jets in conducting surveillance and air strikes soon after Parliament authorised military action against the group calling itself Islamic State last September. | Unmanned Reaper drones joined RAF Tornado jets in conducting surveillance and air strikes soon after Parliament authorised military action against the group calling itself Islamic State last September. |
| The vote confined that military action to Iraq, but at the time the prime minister told MPs he "reserved the right" to act elsewhere "if there were a critical British national interest at stake". | The vote confined that military action to Iraq, but at the time the prime minister told MPs he "reserved the right" to act elsewhere "if there were a critical British national interest at stake". |
| The government will argue the air strike on Reyaad Khan was such a case. But carrying out an RAF air strike in Syria will still be controversial; even more so because a British citizen was targeted. | The government will argue the air strike on Reyaad Khan was such a case. But carrying out an RAF air strike in Syria will still be controversial; even more so because a British citizen was targeted. |
| Though government officials insist that he posed a direct threat to the UK and was on a legitimate "target list", there'll be plenty of questions. What was the intelligence on which the decision was based? Whose target list was he on? | Though government officials insist that he posed a direct threat to the UK and was on a legitimate "target list", there'll be plenty of questions. What was the intelligence on which the decision was based? Whose target list was he on? |
| There are reports the CIA has compiled a list of high-value targets. There will inevitably be some suspicion around the secrecy - the MoD has never publicly stated how many Reapers the RAF is operating or where they're based. | There are reports the CIA has compiled a list of high-value targets. There will inevitably be some suspicion around the secrecy - the MoD has never publicly stated how many Reapers the RAF is operating or where they're based. |
| The fact that RAF Reapers have been flying over Syria is not in itself a surprise. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told MPs last October they would be conducting surveillance missions. | The fact that RAF Reapers have been flying over Syria is not in itself a surprise. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told MPs last October they would be conducting surveillance missions. |
| But in a written statement he also stated: "Reapers are not authorised to use weapons in Syria; that would require further permission." | But in a written statement he also stated: "Reapers are not authorised to use weapons in Syria; that would require further permission." |
| Labour's Ms Harman called for "independent scrutiny" of the attack, asking: "Why didn't the Attorney General authorise this specific action rather than merely 'confirming there was a legal basis for it'?" | Labour's Ms Harman called for "independent scrutiny" of the attack, asking: "Why didn't the Attorney General authorise this specific action rather than merely 'confirming there was a legal basis for it'?" |
| "What was it about this individual and his actions that singled him out from all that has gone before? | "What was it about this individual and his actions that singled him out from all that has gone before? |
| "Did he represent an ongoing threat or was the threat based on a specific act he was plotting?" | "Did he represent an ongoing threat or was the threat based on a specific act he was plotting?" |
| Following the statement, former attorney general Dominic Grieve said the killing "would be justifiable if the factual basis is there", but that it was possible the decision taken by the government could be "legally reviewed or challenged". | Following the statement, former attorney general Dominic Grieve said the killing "would be justifiable if the factual basis is there", but that it was possible the decision taken by the government could be "legally reviewed or challenged". |
| A family friend of Reyaad Khan from Cardiff, Mohamed Islam, called for an investigation "to see the truth of this incident". | |
| He said it was "very complicated, very sad and very hard" for Khan's family. |