Story highlights It's alarming that the UK Parliament has been kept in the dark, rights group Reprieve says

UK Ministry of Defence says embedded UK personnel have taken part in Syria operations

British lawmakers voted against authorizing UK military action in Syria in 2013

London (CNN) British pilots embedded with coalition forces have conducted airstrikes in Syria against ISIS, the UK Ministry of Defence said Friday, despite Britain's Parliament having voted in 2013 against UK military action in Syria.

The Ministry of Defence released the information in response to a request from human rights group Reprieve.

"The UK itself is not conducting air strikes in Syria," a Ministry of Defence statement said.

"But we do have a long-standing embed programme with allies, where small numbers of UK personnel act under the command of host nations. That has been the case in Syria, although there are currently no pilots operating in this region."

The ministry added that "when embedded, UK personnel are effectively operating as foreign troops" and are subject to the mandate of that government.

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