LONDON, United Kingdom – A Royal Air Force drone killed two British born terrorists just days after the Islamic State (IS) threatened to kill HM The Queen it has been revealed. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, used a statement on the first day back after summer holidays to tell Parliament the country had acted in “self-defense”.
The government authorized the unprecedented “precision” strike to kill the men on 21st August. This was just days after the Victory in Japan Day celebrations, which the Islamic State had said it would blow up. The event was attended by The Queen, Prince Charles and the Prime Minister despite the threat to their lives.
Reyaad Khan a 21-year-old from Cardiff, Wales who once dreamed of becoming Britain's first Asian Prime Minister, was killed because he plotted an "outrageous and barbaric" attack, according to Mr Cameron. The Prime Minister would not specify the exact details of the attack in order to avoid "prejudicing criminal cases against others".
Cameron went on to say it was the first time UK forces have killed terrorists in a foreign country when Britain was not at war. But he said there was a “clear legal basis” for the attack and made it clear Britain is now prepared to carry out more strikes on IS targets.
Two other IS terrorists were also killed when Khan was attacked in Raqqa, Syria. One of them, 26-year-old Ruhul Amin, was also British. A third British national 21-year-old Junaid Hussain, was killed by a separate US airstrike.
Mr Cameron denied the UK had a “kill list” of British nationals fighting for IS but did say that it was his “first duty as Prime Minister to keep the British people safe”.
He told MPs: “There was a terrorist directing murder on our streets and no other means to stop them. 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 why I did not take the chance to prevent it when I could have done.”
News of the British deaths has proved popular in the UK with most national newspapers running the story on their front pages this morning (Tuesday). The UKs most popular newspaper 'The Sun' featured pictures of the IS terrorists with targets on each of them and the headline “Wham, Bam, thank you Cam”.
Not everyone was happy about the latest developments in the fight against IS. Brendan O'Hara Scottish National Party Defense spokesman said: “David Cameron has got to come clean about his plans following these developments.
“I have long been concerned about what exactly his plans are to increase military activity – and now we are getting an insight into what may be going on.
“I fear that David Cameron is planning to use this awful humanitarian tragedy as a smokescreen in order to fulfill his long-held desire to involve UK forces in more military action in Syria.”
Reyaad Khan, 20, first became known in the UK when he appeared in the IS propaganda video "There Is No Life Without Jihad." He appeared with two other British men, urging Muslims in the UK to join the Jihad in Syria and Iraq. He was one of Britain's most wanted men until his death.
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