‘The only way’ of dealing with British Islamic State fighters is to kill them in almost every case, minister says

From the Telegraph

The only way of dealing with British Islamic State fighters in Syria will be to kill them in almost every case, an international development minister has said.

Rory Stewart was asked about the comments on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics.

John Pienaar asked: “What is your policy, if it can be stated, on British extremists who have gone to fight with ISIS? Have they brought on themselves what they are about to get?”

The minister said they were “very difficult moral issues”, adding: “These are people who have essentially moved away from any kind of allegiance towards the British Government.

“They are absolutely dedicated, as members of the Islamic State, towards the creation of a caliphate, they believe in an extremely hateful doctrine which involves killing themselves, killing others and trying to use violence and brutality to create an eighth century, or seventh century, state. So I’m afraid we have to be serious about the fact these people are a serious danger to us, and unfortunately the only way of dealing with them will be, in almost every case, to kill them.”

Mr Stewart, a former diplomat, went on to say: “These are people who are executing people in the back of their heads, who have held women and children hostage, who are torturing and murdering trying by violence to impose their will. Our response has to be, when somebody does that, I’m afraid, to deal with that.”

Brett McGurk, a top US envoy for the coalition fighting Islamic State (IS), has said his mission is to ensure every foreign IS fighter in Syria dies in Syria.

Expect him to be re-shuffled from the Department for International Development shortly.