UK Crown Copyright Daesh terrorists have again been struck by Royal Air Force aircraft, with Typhoon fighters flying their first missi...
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| UK Crown Copyright |
Daesh terrorists have again been struck by Royal Air Force aircraft, with Typhoon fighters flying their first missions over Syria and Iraq.
During the evening of Friday 4 December, Tornado GR4s and Typhoon FGR4s, based at RAF Akrotiri, conducted a further series of strikes on targets in the very large Daesh-controlled oilfield at Omar in eastern Syria.
As with the attacks on 3 December which immediately followed the Parliamentary decision to extend offensive air operations to Syrian airspace, the Tornados and Typhoons used Paveway IV guided bombs to hit wellheads, thus cutting off the terrorists’ oil revenue at the very source.
Eight attacks were carried out, and early reports suggest that they were successful. Our aircraft then remained on patrol to collect intelligence on possible terrorist positions and be ready to strike any further targets that might be identified in eastern Syria or western Iraq.
The Typhoons and the Tornados received vital support from an RAF Voyager air refuelling tanker during their missions. At the same time, an RAF Reaper provided close air support to Kurdish security forces in north-west Iraq as they continue to drive back Daesh after defeating the terrorists at Sinjar.
A Daesh truck-bomb was identified south of Sinjar, and the Reaper’s crew were able to destroy it by means of a direct hit from a Hellfire missile.
Whilst the Tornados, Typhoons and Reapers are able to conduct invaluable tactical reconnaissance, a large percentage of the coalition’s strategic surveillance capability is provided by the RAF’s Sentinel and Air Seeker aircraft.
The C-130 Hercules transports also play a key role in ensuring the logistic support of the UK forces deployed on Operation Shader, especially the military training teams in Iraq, who are working with other coalition partners to train and equip the Iraqi security forces as they continue to build their strength to defeat Daesh on the ground.
Source: UK MoD
