The UK has declared that one of its Reaper drones tracked and killed an ISIS member who was riding a motorbike in northern Syria.
The extremely rare attack took place close to the Turkish border in an area controlled by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.
This is only the third British attack this year as the Royal Air Force continues to conduct armed reconnaissance patrols in the ongoing global coalition military intervention against the Islamic State as part of Operation Shader.
“On Monday 10 October, a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, armed with Hellfire missiles, tracked and, when it was safe to do so without posing a risk to civilians, successfully engaged one such terrorist who was on a motorcycle in northern Syria, near Hamman At Turkumen," a statement from the Ministry of Defence read.
The ISIS Member's identity has not formally been declared and authorities apparently removed the man's body and the motorbike.
No other people were reportedly killed or injured.
Two former senior ISIS leaders, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi were also killed in previous years several kilometres from the Turkish border.
Last year the British Ministry of Defence revealed it had killed an Islamic State group arms dealer in a precision drone strike, but British human rights group Reprieve accused the UK of "targeted killing."
Aisha Dennis, who leads Reprieve's work on armed drones, told the Mirror: “The Government has made commitments to consult MPs before lethal strikes are taken. The fact that it isn't doing this raises serious concerns about democratic oversight and the legal standards that are being applied.
“We've been seeking full disclosure of the UK's targeting policy for two years. Meanwhile the MoD continues to carry out airstrikes without disclosing who the targets are or the standards that are applied to 'track and kill' suspects and avoid civilian casualties. In the interests of civilian protection, democracy and the rule of law, it's time for the Gov to come clean on its targeting policy."
The MoD says its policy is robust, operates under strict rules of engagement and is fully compliant with international law.
However, in 2015 following a previous drone strike of this kind, then-Prime Minister David Cameron said it was “important to come to the House and explain why I think it is necessary and justified”.
Defence Minister Ben Wallace said last year when asked if he was prepared to consider launching drone strikes in Afghanistan: “I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect citizens’ lives and our interests and our allies when we’re called upon to do so, wherever that may be.”
The Syrian Democratic Forces issued a statement on Thursday to pay tribute to five of their fighters who died from an alleged Turkish bombing in Ain Issa, some 20 miles from where the British strike on Monday killed the ISIS leader.
Turkey has claimed that it has killed a number of SDF forces in Syria in recent days but it is not clear if they included the five fighters announced dead by the SDF.
Turkey and its Syrian mercenaries have carried out two major military operations against the SDF in northern Syria since 2018.
The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.
