British ISIS fighter killed in Syria posed threat to UK:Report

A British Islamic State fighter killed in a US-led drone strike in Syrian town of Raqqa in 2015 posed "very serious threat" to the UK, according to a parliamentary committee report.

Reyaad Khan, a Cardiff-born terror suspect who was fighting with the ISIS in Syria, was killed in what then British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron had described as an "act of self-defence" in the first such strike carried out in a country Britain was not at war with.

The heavily-redacted report, 'UK Lethal Drone Strikes in Syria', concludes: "From the intelligence reports we have seen, we are in no doubt that Reyaad Khan posed a very serious threat to the UK. He orchestrated numerous plots to murder large numbers of UK citizens and those of our allies, as part of a wider terrorist group which considers itself at war with the west."
 

Dominic Grieve, the Conservative party MP who chaired a House of Commons intelligence select committee inquiry into the killing, said that from 25 intelligence reports and two formal intelligence assessments it was clear Khan was a prolific recruiter and attack planner.

However, he expressed concern at the failure of the Downing Street to allow access to crucial material.

"This failure to provide what we consider to be relevant documents is profoundly disappointing. Oversight depends on primary evidence: the government should open up the ministerial decision-making process to scrutiny on matters of such seriousness," he said.

According to the 'Guardian' newspaper, the intelligence committee report was sent to the Downing Street in December 2016 but its publication was delayed.

Grieve said he would have challenged some of the redactions in the report, but was having to publish now because of the general election on June 8.

A new intelligence committee will now be formed after the election.

A UK government spokesperson said: "Relevant departments and agencies cooperated fully with the ISC (Intelligence Select Committee) in its preparation.

There will be a formal government response to the committee's report, in line with the provisions of the Justice and Security Act 2013, in due course.