Two Britons reportedly killed in Pakistan drone strike

Two British nationals, reportedly fighting with al-Qaeda militants, have been killed in the tribal region of Pakistan, near the Afghan border. Sources in both the Pakistan Taliban and the Pakistan military have told Channel 4 News that the two men were killed in a CIA drone strike five days ago.

These sources say that the two British men, aged 48 and 25, had English names – which Channel 4 News is currently checking – suggesting they were Muslim converts. The Islamic names taken by these men were reportedly Abu Bakar and Mansoor Ahmad respectively.

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A British security source told Channel 4 News that he had not heard of the specific incident in which the two British men were reportedly killed, but the source said he was not at all surprised to learn that British nationals were in the area. Taliban sources said several other British jihadis were in the area.

The two British men killed in the recent attack are understood to have arrived in Pakistan in November 2009 to fight with al-Qaeda. Thousands of foreign jihadis are said to be operating along the frontier. Some fight with al-Qaeda and others with assorted militant groups – including the powerful Haqqani Network – all waging jihad in Afghanistan, across the porous border.

The Hellfire missile strike hit the vehicle in which the two British men were travelling with two other militants. It is not clear whether they were returning from or heading into Afghanistan. They were reportedly killed on 10th December in the town of Dattakhel, 45km southwest of Miramshah, the capital of North Waziristan.

There has been a dramatic escalation of American Predator drone attacks in the region. There have been more than 100 strikes this year, and more than 50 since September, in which more than 260 people have been killed. Most of the recent attacks have primarily targeted foreign fighters, according to security sources.

This is understood to be because western security agencies uncovered a plot to attack European cities, a plot which was sourced to North Waziristan. In October the United States issued a terror alert warning of imminent Mumbai-style attacks targeting London, Paris and Berlin. The previous month, US drone strikes killed another Briton and eight German nationals.

In May this year, the third most senior commander of al-Qaeda, Sheikh Saeed al-Misri, was killed in a drone strike, also close to the town of Dattakhel.