UK to send armed drones to fly surveillance missions over SyriaOctober 21, 2014 - 15:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Britain said on Tuesday, Oct 21, it was authorizing spy planes and armed drones to fly surveillance missions over Syria "very shortly" in order to gather intelligence on Islamic State (IS) militants, according to Reuters. Britain announced the deployment after Turkey said on Monday it would allow Iraqi Kurdish fighters to reinforce fellow Kurds in the Syrian town of Kobani on Turkey's border. Michael Fallon, Britain's defense minister, said both Reaper drones and Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft would fly over Syria as part of "efforts to protect our national security from the terrorist threat emanating from there." But in a written statement to parliament he stressed that Reapers would not be allowed to use their weapons in Syria, something he said would require "further permission", meaning a vote in parliament. Fallon announced last week that Britain was deploying armed Reaper drones to the Middle East to conduct air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq. So far, the Royal Air Force has conducted around 38 combat missions against IS in Iraq. Parliament voted to approve air strikes against IS in Iraq last month, after a request from the Iraqi government. But Britain isn't conducting air strikes in Syria. It has previously said such strikes would require fresh parliamentary approval. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Armenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi Arabia Pashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”. |