UK probes reports of Britons killed in Pakistan

Abu Bakr and Mansoor Ahmed were killed five days ago in a drone strike near Datta Khel.

LONDON:

The British Foreign Office said on Thursday it was looking into media reports that two British nationals, possibly Muslim converts, were killed in a US drone strike last week.

“We are aware of media reports of the death of two British nationals in Pakistan. Our High Commission in Pakistan is seeking further information on these reports,” a spokesperson said.

Channel Four News and The Guardian claimed that the Britons died in a strike near the town of Datta Khel in North Waziristan on December 10.

The men were aged 48 and 25 and reportedly had English names but used the pseudonyms Abu Bakr and Mansoor Ahmed. They were killed when the missile hit a vehicle in which they were travelling with two others, the reports said.

If confirmed, the men would be the first white British converts to have been killed in the area, The Guardian said.

Officials in Pakistan could not confirm the reports, although security officials had announced on December 10 that four militants had been killed when a US drone fired two missiles in North Waziristan.

“The missiles hit a militant vehicle and a house in Khadar Khel town,” , a security official said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2010.