Britain admits killing Syrian civilian in IS air strike

LONDON: A British air strike on Islamic State jihadists in Syria unintentionally killed a civilian, London said Wednesday — the first time it has confirmed a civilian death in the fight against IS. The Royal Air Force strike on three IS fighters in eastern Syria on March 26 also killed a motorcyclist who crossed into the area at the last minute, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said in a statement. It comes a day after the BBC reported that a source inside the coalition fighting the IS group, also known as Daesh, as saying he believed civilians had been killed in “several” RAF attacks. “During a strike to engage three Daesh fighters, a civilian motorbike crossed into the strike area at the last moment and it is assessed that one civilian was unintentionally killed,” Williamson said. “We reached this conclusion after undertaking routine and detailed post-strike analysis of all available evidence,” he said.