MoD confirms that jets carried out ‘first offensive operation over Syria and have conducted strikes’ hours after MPs voted in favour of military action
Britain has carried out its first airstrikes in Syria, hours after MPs voted overwhelmingly to authorise military action.
Four RAF Tornado jets were seen taking off from the Akrotiri base in Cyprus early on Thursday morning and the Ministry of Defence later confirmed they had carried out the “first offensive operation over Syria and have conducted strikes”.
The RAF jets carry a range of munitions including Paveway IV guided bombs and precision-guided Brimstone missiles. The strikes were focused on six targets in an Isis-controlled oilfield in eastern Syria, the BBC reported. The British defence secretary, Michael Fallon, confirmed that eight more jets – two Tornados and six Typhoons – were being sent to Akrotiri to join the attacks.
“We are doubling our strike force. The additional eight aircraft being sent to Akrotiri are now in the air and on their way,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “These are the aircraft that the coalition have been asking for.”
Fallon said the raids targeted the Omar oilfield in eastern Syria, dealing a “real blow” to the financing of Isis and confirmed that he personally approved the targets in the Omar oilfield before Wednesday night’s House of Commons vote, and gave final permission for the raid to go ahead after MPs had given their approval for the extension of airstrikes from Iraq into Syria.
The defence secretary indicated that military action against Isis could be expected to continue for years, rather than months, telling BBC1’s Breakfast: “This is not going to be quick.”
Source:theguardian
