Two British Muslims were killed in a US Predator airstrike that took place in the Waziristan tribal areas about three months ago, according to their families. One of the men had fled the United Kingdom after being placed under a so-called "control order" that is designed to limit the movement of a terrorist suspect. The other man, the brother of a senior al Qaeda leader who was also killed by the US in Pakistan, had been hit with financial sanctions in the United Kingdom due to suspected ties with terror groups.
The two Brits were identified as Ibrahim Adam and Mohammed Azmir. They were said to have been killed sometime in August, according to AFP.
The US carried out six airstrikes in Pakistan's tribal agencies in August; four were in North Waziristan, and two were in South Waziristan. One of the strikes, on Aug. 22, took place in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan. Mir Ali is known to host groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and al Qaeda. Both groups train Europeans to conduct attacks in their home countries.
At least one Briton is known to have been killed in a Predator airstrike in North Waziristan. On Sept. 8, 2010, Abdul Jabbar was killed in a US airstrike in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan. Two Germans were also killed in the strike. Jabbar, who was originally from Jhelum in Pakistan, was said to have been appointed as the future leader of the so-called Islamic Army of Great Britain. The group was formed by al Qaeda to participate in Mumbai-styled terror assaults that were to take place in Britain and other European countries.
Although both Adam and Azmir were known to be involved in terrorist activities, the British government had allowed the men to leave the country.
Azmir is the brother of Abdul Jabbar. Azmir "was slapped with a finance ministry order in February 2010 freezing his assets over concerns that he was involved in funding terrorism," according to AFP. It is unclear when he left the country.
Adam was the subject of a controversial control order, a form of house arrest which restricted his movements and allowed him to be monitored by authorities. He absconded on the control order along with his brother Lalime Adam and four others. Ibrahim and Lalime are brothers of Anthony Garcia, who is in jail for plotting to carry out bombings in the United Kingdom.
Adam is the second known jihadist to have been reported killed in the Afghan-Pakistan region after being subjected to a control order in Britain. Mahmud Abu Rideh, a Palestinian from Khan Younis who was jailed for four years in the United Kingdom after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, is reported to have been killed by the US military in an airstrike in Afghanistan in late 2010.
In 2004, Britain's highest court ruled that the emergency laws that allowed the government to hold Abu Rideh violated his human rights, and ordered his release. In March 2005, Abu Rideh was released from prison but was subject to a control order. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International took up Abu Rideh's case and sought to block his deportation to Jordan due to fears he would be tortured by Jordan's General Intelligence Department.
In July 2009, Abu Rideh, with the help of Amnesty International, succeeded in having the control order lifted. Amnesty International then sought to have his overseas travel restrictions lifted. He did an interview with an Iranian news agency in August 2009 and then disappeared shortly afterward.