First assassination of Briton by drone signals mission creep in Syria

[Little Tich]

Source: The Guardian

Killing of Reyaad Khan marks a significant departure for the UK, with ministers yet to rule out further targeted strikes

David Cameron’s admission that the UK has targeted and killed Reyaad Khan, a prominent member of Islamic State represents the first assassination of a British citizen by a UK military drone.

Another Briton was killed alongside him, Ruhul Amin, also an Isis member, who happened to be in vehicle with him. Cameron also confirmed that a third Briton had been targeted and killed in a separate drone strike by the US as part of a joint operation three days later. To put this in perspective – to illustrate what a major departure this is – look across the Atlantic at the long-running controversy about drones. The US has been in the forefront of the use of drones with Barack Obama employing even more of them than George W Bush. Americans have been killed, though the US insists these were inadvertent: people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Washington has only admitted to one targeted killing by a drone of an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki. The preacher, accused of working with al-Qaida, was hit in a strike by a Hellfire missile in Yemen in 2011. But now the UK has acknowledged that at least two British citizens were targeted for drone strikes.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/07/reyaad-khan-first-assassination-british-citizen-drone

[cosmicone]

1. Go drones !!!!!! n/t

[OnyxCollie]

2. Anwar al-Awlaki's son, Abdulrahman, was "unintentionally" targeted

for assassination by the US two weeks later.

Just a coincidence. Funny how those things happen.

[Mojorabbit]

3. Slippery slope. nt

[moondust]

4. Thus sending a loud message to other Britons. n/t

[Demeter]

5. This does UK no good

any more than it does the US. Drones are a test of ethics, and both nation's administrations have EPIC FAIL written all over them.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

6. I think every country shoud take responsibility for their own traitors.

I see nothing wrong with droning the bastards.

[geek tragedy]

7. 2 down, the rest of ISIS to go.

If you don't want to get droned, don't join ISIS. If you join ISIS, you have only yourself to blame if you get droned.

[geek tragedy]

8. Headline has been changed to remove reference to "assassination" btw:

This article was amended on 7 September 2015 to remove the reference to Reyaad Khan being assassinated. This term applies to the murder of
prominent political figures.

[bananas]

9. Orwellian. nt