British fighter jets have carried out the first airstrikes in Syria targeting Islamic State – also known as IS or Daesh – following a vote in parliament backing increased military action.
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In their first strike in Syrian territory, the United Kingdom warplanes struck six times the Omar oilfield under Islamic State control- a “mainstay” of the group’s financial income, the British defense ministry said in a statement.
Tornado bombers took off yesterday from the Royal Air Force Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus just hours after British lawmakers voted 397-223 to support Mr Cameron’s plan for air strikes, a Reuters witness said. Previously, the British contingent participated in strikes on Iraq but not Syria.
Prime Minister David Cameron said that the MPs had made “the right decision to keep the United Kingdom safe”.
The jets took off from a British base in Cyprus. Several of the oilfields have already been hit by the U.S.-led coalition.
The vote, which came shorly after 10 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET) Wednesday, followed a testy 10-hour debate in which many lawmakers expressed fears of civilian casualties in Syria from the U.S.-led “Operation Inherent Resolve.” An overall majority of 174 represents the clear political mandate to extend the air campaign that the prime minister has wanted for months and does something to erase the humiliation of his failure to win Commons support for airstrikes against the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, in 2013.
But experts question how much Britain, which has been wary of joining foreign conflicts in recent years after unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, would add to the campaign against IS in Syria.
Mr Fallon confirmed that he personally approved the targets in the Omar oil field 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 air strikes from Iraq into Syria. “Or do we sit back and wait for them to attack us?” he asked the House. Two Tornados and a tanker could be sent to Turkey’s Incirlik air base next week if the German Parliament approves the mission Friday as expected.
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The London mayor visited the Bataclan theatre in Paris where 89 people died in the attacks claimed by ISIS.
