Brussels – A British Royal Air Force drone has targeted and killed a suspected ISIS fighter in northwest Syria, The Sun newspaper reported on Saturday.
Citing a source from the UK Ministry of Defence, the report said a £24 million Reaper drone tracked and struck the ISIS member while he was riding a motorbike through the town of Sarmada in northern Idlib, near the Turkish border.
The source explained that the drone fired a Hellfire missile on June 10 after confirming the target’s identity and ensuring there were no civilians nearby who could be harmed. The strike reportedly killed the militant, who intelligence officials say was a known ISIS operative.
According to the source, this marks the second UK drone strike against an ISIS target in Syria since the fall of the former regime, following a previous operation in February.
Britain remains a partner in the US-led international coalition formed in 2014 to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Earlier this month, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it had killed and detained multiple ISIS members, including a senior leader, in separate operations across Syria and Iraq.
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In a statement on X, CENTCOM said that between May 21 and 27, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) conducted an operation near Deir ez-Zor that led to the capture of an ISIS member.
Meanwhile, Iraqi forces, supported by US Central Command, carried out operations in Salah al-Din, Kirkuk, and Fallujah that destroyed several ISIS positions, killed two fighters, captured a senior figure, and seized weapons and explosives.
CENTCOM emphasized that these operations are part of ongoing efforts to disrupt and degrade ISIS’s ability to regroup, plan, and carry out attacks against civilians, US forces, and regional partners.
