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LONDON (AP) — Britain will get 20 more drones and strengthen its special forces as Britain tries to help quell the growth of the Islamic State militant group in Syria and Iraq, Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday.
He told the Sunday Telegraph that national defense and security will be focal points of the annual Conservative Party conference that began in Manchester on Sunday.
Cameron indicated that British jihadis operating inside Syria will face possible drone attacks as a last resort. Two Britons have already been killed by Royal Air Force drones.
He said obtaining 20 new Predator drones would more than double Britain's fleet. They can be used for both surveillance and to attack people or vehicles on the ground.
He also said Britain will take stern measures, including removing passports, to prevent extremists from traveling to Syria and then returning to Britain.
"What we try to do is stop people travelling to these regions, confiscate their passports, work with local government to have them arrested or detained. We try and take every step we can but at the end of the day we have to keep the British people safe from terrorist threats," Cameron said.
Thousands of protesters demonstrated near the party's conference center to protest Cameron's prolonged austerity program.
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