Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The federal government has defended the killing of two Australian al-Qaeda militants in a US drone strike in Yemen late last year.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs told Fairfax Media that the Australian government had not raised any concerns about the strike - believed to be the first time Australians have been killed under Washington's controversial drone program.
His comments came after it emerged the two Australian men were among five al-Qaeda militants killed in a Predator drone strike in November in eastern Yemen. The two Australians have been described as "footsoldiers" for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the offshoot of the militant network in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
One man was named as Christopher Harvard of Townsville, according to The Australian newspaper. The other, a dual New Zealand national, went by the name Muslim bin John but fought under the name Abu Suhaib al-Australi. They were not the main target of the attack, it is understood.
The US has long used drones to target key extremists in the Middle East and southern Asia, but the program has been expanded dramatically under the Obama administration – sparking controversy in the US and tensions with some countries in the region.
The department spokesman defended the strike, saying Australians could not expect to engage in "potentially criminal activity" without consequences.
"Yemen is subject to a serious terrorist threat and the Yemeni government is taking robust measures to ensure its national security," he said.
"Australians are reminded that by engaging in potentially criminal activity overseas, they accept the risk of serious consequences. The fact that they are Australian citizens is not a protection."
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said on Wednesday that his country's intelligence officials knew of Muslim bin John's militant connections for ''quite some time''.
He had been to ''some sort of terrorist training camp'', Mr Key said.
It is understood the primary target was Abu Habib al-Yemeni, a senior militant who was close to the late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Don Rothwell, an expert in international law at the Australian National University, said there had been fierce debate about the legality of the US drone program and whether it was a form of extra-judicial killing.
''From an international law perspective, aspects of the use of Predator drones remain controversial and the Obama administration has been under significant pressure over their continuing use of drones,'' he said.
Mr Key added that it showed drone strikes were ''legitimate at certain times where countries are trying to contend with very dangerous situations''.
It is understood that US authorities informed the Australian government that Australians might have been "collateral damage" in the drone strike. The Australian Federal Police helped confirm the identity of the bodies by comparing DNA samples with samples from the men's families.
Harvard appeared on Australian counterterrorism officials' radar after he moved to Yemen in 2011. It is unclear when Muslim bin John came to their attention.
According to media reports in November, the Predator drone hit the Toyota Hilux carrying the five men in Hadramout in eastern Yemen at 9am on Tuesday, November 19 last year. Local residents told Chinese news agency Xinhua that the vehicle was ''engulfed in flame''.
