Having secured parliamentary permission for an air war in Syria, British Prime Minister wasted no time deploying warplanes, and within hours the first British bombs were falling on Raqqa.
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The vote split Britain’s opposition Labour Party, with leader Jeremy Corbyn opposed but foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn in favour.
The strikes again targeted oilfields in what was the second combat mission since Wednesday’s vote to target Islamic State (Isis) across the border from Iraq, where Britain has been flying for months.
Two more GR4s flew on armed reconnaissance patrols over eastern Syria last night, gathering intelligence on terrorist activity.
We intend to stay vigilant, and take action if these terrorist forces threaten our personnel or facilities anywhere in Iraq, including our consulate in Irbil and our embassy in Baghdad.
After 15 years in which hundreds of British troops died serving as the main battlefield ally of the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan, many in Britain are wary of more war.
“For that money the bandits are recruiting mercenaries, buying weapons and staging cruel terror attacks aimed against our citizens, as well as citizens of France, Lebanon, Mali and other countries”, he said.
Tornados took off from a British air base in Akrotiri, Cyprus, shortly after the vote.
“It is important symbolically, useful operationally, but not transformative”.
The two leaders also “reiterated that all countries are welcome to join the existing coalition, if their political and military objectives in Syria are consistent with those of the coalition”.
The strategy, he said, was a “transitional government in six months, a new constitution, and free and fair elections within 18 months”.
And in June this year, 30 Britons were among 38 tourists killed in an attack at a holiday resort in Tunisia claimed by IS.
During his opening speech at the House of Commons, Prime Minister David Cameron said, “The threat is very real”.
The RAF carried out missions over Syria and Iraq overnight, hitting what the Ministry of Defence described as an Islamic State sniper team in Iraq but nothing in Syria.
“We are already a target and we have got to do something about this now”.
I made clear that as part of this campaign the United States would take action against targets in both Iraq and Syria so that these terrorists can’t find safe haven anywhere.
“The Tornados were successful in striking these targets…”
While visiting RAF Akrotiri on 5 December, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said that the strikes were a “pretty impressive achievement”.
Russian Federation has accused Turkey of being involved in an illicit oil trade with the Islamic State militants, charges that Ankara has denied.
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The assets Britain is contributing to the US-led effort are limited and will not increase the number of strikes to a level experts argue are needed to make a serious impact on Islamic State forces.
