A leading Scottish terrorism expert said he felt for the real victims of the drone strike – the bereaved parents who will not be able to mourn the deaths of their own sons.
Dr Gilbert Ramsay, a professor at the University of St Andrews, said that not only had they already “lost” their offspring to ideologies they do not understand, they will also have to hide their grief from the public who detested what they stood for so much.
“It is a multiple tragedy for the parents,” he said.
Dr Ramsay said he understood why people are questioning the legality of Amin’s “collateral damage” death, no matter how “atrocious” the militant group is he joined.
“David Cameron has acted without parliamentary authority and has killed three British citizens. That’s not altogether unprecedented, but it’s rather exceptional,” he said.
“Even if you accept that the other two were legitimate targets, just because he was with them, was it OK for his own government to kill him?
“If he was in Britain and he had been part of an apparent atrocious terrorist plot, we wouldn’t expect him to be executed.
“Some tough questions need to asked about whether this approach was necessary.”
Dr Ramsay said it was not impossible to understand why such young, impressionable men – who had their whole lives ahead of them – chose to join IS.
“Here is a group that is absolutely resolute – who say they are not going to give up no matter what the world throws at them,” he explained.
“They say they are going to stand up and fight for what the believe in, and not shy away from saying and doing atrocious things.
“They show courage and conviction, which can be very attractive.”