Tag: British drone victims

Briton killed by targeted British drone strike

Chris Cole
reeyard
Reyaad Khan

In a shocking statement made in the House of Commons this afternoon Prime Minster David Cameron announced that for the first time a British citizen, Reyaad Khan, has been targeted for assassination by a British drone.  A second Briton, Ruhul Amin and a third unknown man were also killed in the strike. Cameron told the House:

Today I can inform the House that in an act of self-defence and after meticulous planning Reyaad Khan was killed in a precision air strike carried out on 21st August by an RAF remotely piloted aircraft while he was travelling in a vehicle in the area of Raqqah in Syria.

In addition to Reyaad Khan who was the target of the strike, two ISIL associates were also killed, one of whom – Ruhul Amin, has been identified as a UK national. They were ISIL fighters and I can confirm there were no civilian casualties.

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Deaths of UK nationals in US drone strikes must be investigated

Chris Cole

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.

Two More Britons Killed by US Drone Attack in Pakistan

Chris Cole

The Daily Telegraph is reporting that two British citizens have been killed in a US drone attack in North Waziristan.  The drone attack took place on Friday December 10th when local Pakistani media reported that US drones fired four Hellfire missiles at a vehicle and compound near Datta Khel.  

If reports are correct – and the British Foreign Office are saying at this stage that they are investigating the reports  – it will be the second time in three months that British citizens have been killed in US drone strikes in Pakistan.  In October, as we reported at the time, Abdul Jabbar a British citizen reportedly from Birmingham, was killed in Waziristan.    

No doubt there will be more on this story soon.

Letter on drone attacks published in The Guardian

Chris Cole

The Guardian has published my letter regarding the killing of British citizen in US drone strike:

There are a number of deeply disturbing issues about the reports that Abdul Jabbar, a British citizen killed in a US drone strike in north Waziristan, was to lead a British terrorist cell (Drone killed British Taliban plotter, reports say, 6 October). First, the suggestion that he was to lead a terrorist cell in the UK appears to come from one unnamed “senior Pakistani security source”. It is of great concern that a single unnamed source, who, it could be argued, has a vested interest in justifying the death of Mr Jabbar and raising fears about terrorism, has such an influence on the media. But perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that the execution of a British citizen accused of being involved in terrorist activity without any due legal process seems acceptable to many in the media and beyond.

Chris Cole
Oxford
 
A larger comment piece on the same subject is here:  Unnamed Sources and Drones: A Deadly Combination

Unnamed Sources and Drones: A Deadly Combination

Chris Cole

There are a number of deeply disturbing issues about the reports that Abdul Jabbar, a British Citizen killed in US drone strike in North Waziristan was to lead British terrorist cell. Firstly the suggestion that he was in fact to lead a terrorist cell in the UK appears to come from one unnamed “senior Pakistani security source” via a BBC Newsnight report. 

It is of great concern that a single unnamed source who, it could be argued, has a vested interest in justifying the death of Mr Jabbar and raising fears about terrorism has such an influence on the media. Indeed other ‘unnammed sources” are dismissing the story. Sky News for example are reporting that their sources, this time unnamed government officials are saying that the stories are something “to be”rather cautious of”.   And indeed as the Guardian reports one key element of the story is very suspicious – the idea Abdul Jabbar was chosen at a gathering of 300 Taliban and al-Qaida militants in North Waziristan. “It’s unthinkable that 300 people could meet in one location in the tribal belt. Maybe 10 or 20, but 300 is too much. It would be too much of an easy target for the drones,” said Imtiaz Gul, author of a book on militancy in the frontier regions.

 But perhaps even more disturbing about this whole story is the fact that the execution of a British citizen accused of being involved in terrorist activity”at very early stages” without any due legal process seems acceptable to many in the media and beyond – indeed it passes without even comment.