Four RAF Tornado jets, which carry a range of munitions including guided bombs and missiles, took off from the Akrotiri base in Cyprus but defence officials refused to be drawn on the targets of their mission.
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They will be joined by six Typhoon jets, which took off from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland shortly after 0800 GMT, and two more Tornado fighters, which were due to take off from RAF Marham in southeast England.
LONDON-The U.K. has begun airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, only hours after lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of extending Britain’s bombing campaign into the war-torn country.
Similarly, Gavin Williamson (South Staffs), Mark Pritchard (Wrekin) Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford), Amanda Milling (Cannock), Bill Cash (Stone) and Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) all backed the government.
Meanwhile the RAF continues to carry out airstrikes on ISIS in Iraq as the Ministry of Defence reported on Tuesday that it had hit ISIS positions in the towns of Ramadi and Haditha over the past few days. Some 67 of its 231 MPs reportedly voted in favour of bombing, including 11 members of Corbyn’s team.
Stevenage MP Stephen McPartland was the only Conservative MP in our area to vote against air strikes in Syria, which were approved after 10 hours of debate last night in the House of Commons. “The question is this: Do we work with our allies to degrade and destroy this threat and do we go after these terrorists in their heartlands, from where they are plotting to kill British people?”
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Britain was “safer” following the decision to back air strikes.
He said that many of those MPs do believe in the need for military action to take on terrorists.
Earlier, Basildon and Billericay Tory MP John Baron told the Commons bombing Islamic State in Syria without a long-term plan for the country will put the United Kingdom at risk of “repeating the errors” of the past.
France’s government welcomed the first British airstrikes in Syria, saying they are a sign of the European solidarity promised after the November 13 attacks on Paris.
If support is gained from members from all parties, subsequent air strikes will target ISIL headquarters in Raqqa in Syria, where ISIL plans and orchestrates its activities.
“They hold us in contempt, they hold our values in contempt, they hold our belief in tolerance and decency in contempt, they hold our democracy – the means by which we will make our decision tonight – in contempt”, Benn said, as Corbyn sat in silence beside him.
“We need a long term strategy”, he said.
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An RAF captain has said he is “absolutely confident” that there will be no civilian casualties as air strikes were launched over Syria.
