‘Islamic State spies hacked emails of UK ministers’

TIMES OF ISRAEL  – Britain’s intelligence service has uncovered a “sophisticated espionage operation” run by Islamic State extremists in Syria to hack into the email accounts of British cabinet ministers, Britain’s Telegraph newspaper said Friday.

According to the paper, an investigation by Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) revealed that extremists linked to the Islamic State have been targeting information held by some of Prime Minister David Cameron’s most senior ministers, including Home Secretary Theresa May.

The Telegraph said that “it is understood that at least one of the plot’s ringleaders was killed by a drone strike in an operation disclosed by the Prime Minister this week.”

Hacking into the emails could have provided extremists with details of events at which government officials and royalty were expected, the paper reported, claiming that it had sat on the story while the investigation was ongoing.

On August 21, Britain carried out a drone attack on a car in the Syrian city of Raqqa, an IS stronghold, that killed three Islamic State fighters, including two Britons. The UK said this week that the strike was carried out in self-defense.

The Telegraph said that “at least one of the plot’s ringleaders” was killed in the attack. According to the paper, one of the Britons targeted in the strike had also directed a plot to kill the Queen.

In a letter to the UN Security Council president dated Monday, Britain’s UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft wrote that the target was “known to be actively engaged in planning and directing imminent armed attacks against the United Kingdom.” It called the airstrike “necessary and proportionate.”