LONDON, September 15 (RIA Novosti) – The United Kingdom could ask the United Nations to approve an international military operation against Islamic State (IS) militants, The Times newspaper reported Monday.
"[British Prime Minister] David Cameron is expected to use his address at the UN general assembly to help to build an international coalition to confront the [IS] group, also known as ISIS. The formation of such a coalition is likely to trigger the recall of parliament, with MPs asked to approve UK airstrikes on Isis targets," The Times writes.
"Military planners are already preparing for Britain's part in the campaign," the newspaper notes.
On Sunday, a video of the execution of journalist David Haines, a British citizen, by the IS appeared on the website of the Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Institute, which monitors the activity of Islamic terrorists on the Internet.
David Cameron called the execution "an act of pure evil" and promised to do everything to catch the killers and hold them legally accountable.
On September 10, US President Barack Obama unveiled his strategy for defeating the IS that includes authorizing US airstrikes against the group in Syria. Obama announced that the United States would lead a coalition aiming to roll back the terrorist threat and destroy the jihadist group altogether.
On September 11, a Syrian minister of national reconciliation warned that any foreign military action on its territory would be considered an act of aggression unless approved by Damascus.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexander Lukashevich stressed earlier in the day that sanctioning airstrikes without a UN Security Council mandate would be a violation of international law.
The IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), is a radical Sunni group, which has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June, it started launching attacks in the northern and western regions of Iraq, announcing the establishment of a caliphate on all the territories under its control.
In August, President Obama authorized limited airstrikes against IS positions in Iraq.
