Another two British men have reportedly been killed in US drone strikes. Ibrahim Adam (24) and Mohammed Azmir Khan (38) were said by their families to have been killed in separate drone strikes up to three months ago. While reports vary, the Guardian says that Ibrahim Adam was struck while riding a motorcycle and Mohammed Azimir Khan was killed in a strike two weeks later.
Previous British victims of US drone strikes include Mohammed Azimir Khan’s younger brother, Abdul Jabbar, who was killed in a drone strike in October last year as we reported here. Then in December 2010 a further two other British men, named locally as Mr Stephen and Mr Dearsmith, were killed in drone strike in North Waziristan. Rashid Rauf was reported killed in a drone strike in 2006.
Ibrahim Adam had been the subject of a control order here in the UK before fleeing in May 2007 while Mohammed Azmir Khan had his assets frozen in February 2010 as he had been ‘suspected’ (but not charged) of being involved in fundraising for terrorism. He has since been removed from the Treasury’s list of people and organisations subject to financial sanctions.
In total it appears that six British nationals have been killed in US drone strikes in Pakistan. While the Foreign Office has said in the past that it was “looking into the reports” of the killings, so far none of these violent deaths have been investigated by UK authorities as they have a duty to do. At the very least a coroner inquest should be held to uncover the circumstances surrounding these latest killings.