News coverage this morning includes the on-going debate over the RAF ‘drone’ strike that killed two British jihadists in Syria, following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday. Three newspapers lead with stories relating to the strike
Syria air strike
The Guardian’s front page says unmanned RAF aircraft armed with Hellfire missiles have been patrolling the skies over Syria for months, as they seek to target British ISIL members on a “kill list” drawn up by senior ministers on the UK National Security Council shortly after the general election. The newspaper quotes the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon as saying ministers would not hesitate to approve further strikes against jihadists who have their own kill list while Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn led a cross-party group of MPs who raised doubts about the strategy. The Daily Mail front page takes a similar line, reporting that the British terrorist assassinated by an RAF ‘drone’ was on a ‘kill list’ of at least 10 UK fanatics. So-called Jihadi John allegedly heads the roster of targets authorised by ministers, with the paper adding that since then Reaper drones have been searching for the jihadis.
The Times reports that a Belgian jihadist is believed to be the third ISIL militant killed in the British drone strike in Syria. The man, who goes by the nomme de guerre of Abu Ayman al-Belgiki, was travelling in a vehicle with Reyaad Khan, the British militant who was the target of last month’s operation, and a second Briton, Ruhul Amin, according to sources in Syria. Reapers are on standby to conduct more lethal strikes in the war zone, the newspaper claims, even without parliamentary approval if the opportunity arises to kill another jihadist deemed to pose a threat to the UK. Conservative MPs have joined calls for an urgent investigation into 'summary executions’, according to the Independent, while The Sun argues the ‘terror pair’ plotted more slaughter and misery and the RAF had to take them out, with a poll showing ‘massive public support’.
Speaking to Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said he could not go into details as to whether there is a specific list of names the Government was targeting but that there were large numbers of people planning attacks and that it was the job of the armed forces and intelligence services to stop them. He added:
Action like this has to be necessary, it has to be proportionate, and it has to be based on the right of any country to defend itself against an armed attack that’s being planned against it. These were terrorists who had been planning a series of attacks on the streets of our country, some involving public events.
The Defence Secretary’s full comments on the programme are here.
Mefloquine (Lariam)
The Today programme said there are calls for the government to answer questions over the use of anti-malarial drug mefloquine, which can be given to UK personnel. In a letter from the Defence Select Committee, MPs say they want to know how many servicemen and women have complained about side-effects after taking mefloquine - or Lariam as it is more commonly known. The Government’s policy on mefloquine use is based on expert advice; the military uses a range of anti-malarials and only issues prescriptions after a risk assessment. An MOD spokesperson said it will consider the contents of the letter in due course, adding:
All our medical advice is based on the current guidelines set out by Public Health England. Based on this expert advice, the MOD continues to prescribe mefloquine as part of the range of recommended malaria prevention treatments, which help protect personnel from this life-threatening disease. Mefloquine is used by civilians and military personnel throughout the world and we only ever prescribe it after an individual risk assessment.
More information on the mefloquine policy can be found here.
Afghanistan
The power struggle within the Taliban is breaking out in violent clashes between rival factions as opponents of the group’s new commander defy his calls for unity, writes the Times. Fighters loyal to Mullah Akhtar Mansour have confronted a breakaway faction in southern Afghanistan, leaving at least a dozen militants dead. The infighting threatens to increase the splintering of the Islamist group, which is already losing defectors to Afghan affiliates of ISIL. Pakistan, which is pressuring the Taliban and Afghan leadership to resume peace talks, has warned that further delays will drive fresh recruits into the arms of ISIL.
Longest reign
There has been extensive coverage of Queen Elizabeth II becoming the nation’s longest reigning monarch today. The Queen was the first female member of the royal family to be a full-time active member of the Armed Forces, joining the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945, aged 18.
