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Britain edged closer to bombing Islamic State extremists in Syria after the Defence Secretary said it was “illogical” to attack jihadists in Iraq but not over the border.

Michael Fallon said a new Commons vote would be needed before the RAF carried out air strikes against Islamist fighters in Syria.

But he insisted there was no “legal bar” blocking Britain from attacking extremists in either country.

RAF Tornados and drones have been bombing the jihadists in Iraq since last September as part of a US-led alliance.

But Mr Fallon said: “ISIS is organised and directed and administered from Syria and there’s an illogicality about not being able to do it there.”

He added: “We have always been clear that ISIS has to be defeated in both Syria and Iraq.

“They don’t differentiate – they are establishing this evil caliphate across both countries.”

If last week’s shooting of British tourists in Tunisia was traced back to Syria, coalition countries fighting jihadists would need to work out “how best to deal with that”, Mr Fallon added.

Thirty Britons are feared to have been killed in the Sousse outrage, with 27 UK nationals confirmed dead.

The atrocity on the beach could mark a turning point in how Britain tackles IS.

MPs would “want to think very carefully about how we best deal with ISIL and the illogicality of ISIL not respecting the border lines”, Mr Fallon said.

He added: “They don’t differentiate between Syria and Iraq - they are establishing this evil caliphate across both countries.”

MPs refused to back air strikes in Syria following a chemical weapons attack allegedly ordered by President Bashar al-Assad in August 2013.

Britain stopped short of widening bombing missions against Iraq-based jihadists backed by MPs last year.

David Cameron is “clear that we should absolutely be thinking about, ‘Are we doing enough and in the right areas to tackle ISIL?’” his spokeswoman said.

And the PM has “been clear on the need for us to be crushing ISIL in both Iraq and Syria”, she insisted.

The spokeswoman added: “ISIL is seeking to find areas from which it can operate, from where it can seek to threaten people here in Britain.”