British bombers have made their first strikes on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), hitting oilfields in Syria that Prime Minister David Cameron says are being used to fund attacks on the West.
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Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said RAF airstrikes will continue in eastern and northern Syria for “the next few days and weeks”, warning there is still plenty of work to be done in eradicating the sick death cult.
British Typhoon warplanes are seen on the ground after landing Thursday at the RAF Akrotiri, a British air base near the coastal city of Limassol, Cyprus.
Royal Air Force planes based in Cyprus carried out the “first offensive operation against Daesh terrorist targets inside Syria”, the defence ministry said in a statement, using an alternative name for IS.
The oilfield is one of the largest and most important for ISIS financial operations, representing over 10 per cent of their potential income, according to the MoD. Moscow supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States and its allies oppose him.
French fighter jets joined the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State extremists in Iraq in 2014, and expanded their mission to IS targets in Syria in September.
The decision to extend bombing to Syria divided the opposition Labour Party, opposed by its leader Jeremy Corbyn but supported by its foreign affairs spokesman Hilary Benn in a passionate speech in parliament.
If this is not delivered within two years, as planned by the Vienna peace talks, “that won’t mean that we give up and go home”, he said. Around a third of Labour lawmakers defied Corbyn to vote yes.
After 15 years in which hundreds of British troops died serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, many in Britain are wary of more war in the Middle East.
But the MoD said it has the use of the UK’s Brimstone missiles – which even the USA don’t possess – offering “pin-point accuracy” in performing “surgical strikes” on both static and moving targets.
Cameron has pledged that Britain joining air strikes on Syria will be matched by a major diplomatic push to resolve the crisis. Britain has been participating in US-led coalition attacks against ISIL positions in Iraq so far.
During the debate, the government also faced a string of questions about whether joining the worldwide military action on Syria could make Britain more vulnerable to attacks from IS.
“The Tornados were successful in striking these targets… and all four Tornados have now successfully returned”, Fallon told the BBC.
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Most of the world’s powers are now flying combat missions over Iraq and Syria against Islamic State.
