ISLAMABAD: The UK Ministry of Defense on Wednesday refused to comment on whether it investigated a targeted drone attack on a Daesh leader in Syria that reportedly caused civilian injuries.
Ben Wallace, Defense Secretary, said on Monday that the attack by the Royal Air Force in Syria’s Al-Bab in December involved a Reaper drone hitting a key Daesh member, according to US media reports.
Though the attack resulted in local leader Abu Yasser Al-Yemeni being taken to hospital, 2 civilians were also reported injured. The strike involved 2 Hellfire missiles launched by the drone.
UK’s operations in Syria
In its war against ISIS since 2014, the RAF has carried out over 5,500 combat missions and fired nearly 4,300 missiles but has only acknowledged the death of one civilian.
However, the Inherent Resolve coalition against ISIS, the international military grouping led by the United States, has said that 1,437 civilians have died in air strikes against Daesh targets.
Wallace said that the attack in December hit Al-Yemeni because of his involvement in biological and chemical weapons. Drone operators had minimized the potential threat to civilians
Syria’s Observatory for Human Rights said that the target was shifted to a hospital in the wake of the strike amid secrecy regarding his condition. It added that the state media reported injuries to a child and woman.
