Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will conduct an investigation into potential civilian harm in Northern Syria resulting from the 20 December 2016 RAF drone strike in Al-Bab

The UK has robust procedures to ensure that all military operations, including airstrikes, are conducted in full compliance with International Humanitarian Law. Every care is taken during UK military operations to minimise the potential for civilian casualties. To that end, we conduct a rigorous assessment before and after striking a target and will investigate any credible reports that UK actions may have caused civilian casualties.

Over the course of Operation SHADER, the UK's contribution to the international coalition to counter Daesh, we have previously identified one civilian casualty that occurred during an UK airstrike on Daesh fighters in eastern Syria on 26 March 2018.  This incident was subject to a Written Ministerial Statement on 2 May 2018 (HCWS665). RAF aircraft did not conduct an attack near Al Bab in Syria on 20 December 2016. Despite our best efforts to identify whether there have been civilian casualties, no evidence we have suggests these occurred as a result of strikes carried out by the RAF in Mosul in 2016-17.

However, we accept the possibility that there could be instances of civilian casualties about which we are unaware, despite our best efforts to identify. We will always re-examine any new information or evidence relating to a potential civilian casualty incident submitted to us, where it is possible that UK forces may have been involved.

Parliament will always be informed of any instance where we assess a UK airstrike is responsible for a civilian casualty incident, whether incurred during a new strike, or as a result of re-examining historic strikes using new information. National security considerations might prevent full disclosure of detail where this risks jeopardising operational security considerations.