LONDON: A Royal Air Force (RAF) drone last month killed a British jihadist in Syria who was planning attacks on Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday.
He described the operation as a first, as it involved an attack in a country where Britain was not legally at war, but said it was justified because it prevented terrorist bloodshed.
"Reyaad Khan was killed in a precision air strike carried out on August 21 by an RAF remotely piloted aircraft while he was travelling in a vehicle in the area of Raqqah," Cameron told parliament.
Two other Islamic State jihadists, including Briton Ruhul Amin, were also killed but no civilians were harmed, the prime minister said.
Cameron said the strike was "an act of self-defence" since Khan had been planning "barbaric" attacks in Britain against high-profile commemorations over the summer.
He did not give further details.
The strike had been "entirely lawful" and carried out following consultation with the attorney general, he added.
"There was a terrorist directing murder on our streets and no other means to stop them," he said.
"Is this the first time in modern times that a British asset has been used to conduct a strike in a country where we are not involved in a war? The answer to that is yes," he added.
AFP
