British airstrikes kill 330 Daesh militants in past year

Published September 17th, 2015 - 10:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

UK airstrikes have killed around 330 so-called Islamic State fighters in the past year, the Defence Secretary said.

The number is "highly approximate", Michael Fallon said, and covers the period from September last year until the end of last month, when British extremists Reyaad Khan and Ruhul Amin were killed by a drone strike in the IS stronghold of Raqqa.

Mr Fallon, answering a written question from Green MP Caroline Lucas, said the government does not believe any civilians have been killed or injured by the strikes against IS, also known as ISIL.

He wrote: "The estimated number of ISIL fighters killed as a result of UK strikes from September 2014 to 31 August 2015 is around 330. This figure is highly approximate, not least given the absence of UK ground troops in a position to observe the effects of strike activity. We do not believe there have been any civilian casualties as a result of UK strike activity. Any overall estimates would be a matter for the coalition."

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