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SAS And Drones To Be 'Beefed Up' In IS Fight

SAS And Drones To Be 'Beefed Up' In IS Fight

Britain will "beef up" the SAS and double number of drones it is operating in a bid to tackle Islamic State, David Cameron has said.

He told a newspaper ahead of the start of the Conservative Party conference that the action is necessary in order to meet the terrorist threat facing the UK.

The Ministry of Defence will buy a fleet of 20 new Protector drones from the US, the Sunday Telegraph reported him as saying.

They are a later model than the £11m Reaper drones which Britain already operates and which were used to strike at British IS members in early September.

Mr Cameron told the newspaper: "One of the biggest threats we have to respond to is that terrorist threat and that means a lot of things in terms of obviously domestic security and our intelligence services.

"But it also means making sure that we have the military equipment and resources we need - so seeing an enhancement of our Special Forces and particularly on the issue of surveillance aircraft."

The announcement plays to one of the key themes of this year's conference, which are "security, stability and opportunity".

Drones have been operating against IS for several months in Iraq where the militant group have captured extensive amounts of territory.

There have been reports that the SAS is also operating in Iraq, but the MoD has yet to confirm this.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the Prime Minister said more jihadists operating in Syria will be targeted by the drones as a "last resort".

Sky News correspondent Robert Nisbet says Mr Cameron has some way to go before winning full support for his military strategy.

He said: " As Russian bombers continue to target anti-Assad forces in Syria , the west is reaching for an appropriate diplomatic and military response.

"David Cameron knows that while he has Parliamentary approval for airstrikes in Iraq, he still has many within his own party who have reservations about extending the remit to Syria.

"They question the legality of such action without a UN resolution, and its effectiveness

"While the divisions in Labour are far deeper, Mr Cameron will want to convince delegates that the UK’s investment in this new Protector technology will reap rewards in the battle against Islamic State."

The focus on defence comes after the final day of the Labour Party conference was overshadowed by a row over Jeremy Corbyn's opposition to a nuclear deterrent.