In a statement, the British Ministry of Defence said: “The mainstay of Daesh’s (IS) financial income is derived from exploitation of a number of oilfields that they hold”.
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Their bombs are said to have targeted the Omar oilfields in eastern Syria which are said to be under the control of the militants and supplying them with fuel and funds.
“I can also tell you that today we are doubling our strike force, the additional eight aircraft being sent to Akrotiri… two more Tornados, six Typhoons”.
The military campaign would have been nearly immediate after Britain’s government only confirmed in a vote at 10.30 p.m. last night that the country will join the U.S. and other nations in a bombing campaign against ISIS.
“I can confirm that four British Tornados were in action after the vote last night attacking oil fields in eastern Syria – the Omar oil fields – from which the Daesh [IS] terrorists receive a huge part of their revenue”.
Mr Hammond said air strikes would now be carried out “as quickly as possible” but conceded the campaign will not be over swiftly.
The opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the airstrikes were a “reckless and half-baked intervention”. More than 50 senior members of the Labour Party voted in favor of the strikes, BBC News reported Wednesday.
RAF Akrotiri has been used as a launchpad for attacks on IS targets in Iraq for just over a year, and late on Wednesday Britain’s parliament broadened its scope for targets within Syria.
Britain was already carrying out airstrikes against ISIL targets in neighbouring Iraq.
West Norfolk’s Conservative MPs Henry Bellingham and Elizabeth Truss both voted in favour of military action.
“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?” The bulk of German troops and planes likely won’t arrive in the region until next month 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.
The government is now set to deploy more jets and argues that the Royal Air Force’s Brimstone missiles will be particularly valuable for precision strikes to avoid civilian casualties.
Cameron military decision was immediately hailed by US President Barack Obama, who said the US would “look forward to having British forces flying with the coalition over Syria”.
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“This is not about whether we want to fight terrorism, it’s about how best we do that”, Cameron said.
