Cameron says Britain won't target Assad

Prime Minister David Cameron says Britain must join airstrikes in Syria to deny the Islamic State [IS] group a "safe haven" from which to plot mass-casualty attacks around the world.

Cameron is trying to persuade lawmakers to back action, arguing that the Paris attacks have given new urgency to the fight against IS.

Cameron has said that the terrorist organisation is using the sanctuary of northern Syria to launch plots with deadly intent against the British people.

The threats to our interests and to our people are such that we cannot afford to stand aside and not to act. The longer IS is allowed to grow in Syria, the greater the threat it will pose

However, Cameron also added that Britain will not take military action to get rid of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Cameron told lawmakers that he wants Royal Air Force airstrikes to target the Islamic State group, but said "we are not taking or proposing to take military action to achieve regime change in Syria."

Last week Tuesday, Cameron revealed that British security services had foiled around seven terror plots in the past year with fighters returning from Syria, adding that security services will have to "re-think their strategy to deal with multiple coordinated street attacks".

“The threats to our interests and to our people are such that we cannot afford to stand aside and not to act. The longer Isil is allowed to grow in Syria, the greater the threat it will pose," Cameron said, using another name for the group.

"It is wrong for the United Kingdom to subcontract its security to other countries, and to expect the aircrews of other nations to carry the burdens and the risks of striking Isil in Syria to stop terrorism here in Britain.”

Cameron is expected to call a vote in parliament on the issue before recess begins on 17 December.

Reports suggest the government could call a vote on the issue next week.

Earlier this month Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee said British airstrikes would be "incoherent" and ineffective without a plan to end Syria's civil war.

Cameron replied Thursday in writing and is due to make his case in the House of Commons for airstrikes as part of a "comprehensive overall strategy" to destroy IS and end the Syrian war.

Cameron confident over support

While British forces are taking part in airstrikes on IS targets in Iraq, they are not involved in the US-led coalition targeting Syria due to resistance from opposition parties still mindful of previous unpopular interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Labour's anti-war leader Jeremy Corbyn is against any military action but Cameron appears increasingly confident he can get enough support from Labour MPs to pass the vote, particularly after last week's UN Security Council resolution authorising countries to "take all necessary measures" against IS.

A Times/YouGov opinion poll last week found that 58 percent of people would approve of Britain joining airstrikes in Syria, compared to 22 percent against.