Britain’s defense secretary says British Tornados struck at oil fields that help finance the activities of the Islamic State group – the first strikes to follow after a vote in Parliament authorizing military action in Syria.
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British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has also confirmed six Typhoons and two Tornados have been sent to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to help with operations.
A Ministry of Defense spokesman told The Associated Press that the planes had conducted strikes in Syria, and details about their targets would be provided later Thursday. For one former minister, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, “symbolism is more important than the effect”.
Cameron said the more than four-year-old Syrian civil war could not be resolved by military action alone, but that the strikes would “degrade” the Islamic State.
As a major supporter of the decision to wait it out, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Opposition and the Labour Party, requested that Cameron explain “how British bombing in Syria will contribute to a comprehensive, negotiated, political settlement of the Syrian war”.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has been weighing such a move since November’s terrorist attacks in Paris.
The U.K. parliament voted Wednesday to expand air strikes in Syria, but a recent poll suggests voters might not be on board. It’s also planning to commit up to 1,200 soldiers to support the worldwide coalition fighting the Islamic State group.
Mr Selous said failing to act would be in breach of the United Nations resolution where countries had pledged to take every possible action to eradicate IS. Putin again accused Turkey profiting from oil trade with IS – allegations Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has strongly denied.
Britain already had eight Tornado fighter jets plus drones involved in the US-led coalition striking IS targets in Iraq and will now deploy more jets.
The debate in the British Parliament Wednesday highlighted the division between those who said airstrikes were the only way to protect Europe from Islamic terrorism and those who said destroying Syrian targets would fuel more extremism.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he offered his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, condolences over the death of a Russian pilot, adding: “It would be unrealistic to say that the problem has been overcome”.
The news of Britain’s involvement in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria has sent waves of concern and anxiety throughout some members of the public in Cyprus. In the end, though, the entire effort may end up being for naught if Hollande and President Obama can’t find a way to bring Russia into the conversation, and given the ongoing acrimony between Russia and Turkey over last week’s shoot down of a Russian bomber by Turkey, that doesn’t seem very likely at the moment.
Experts remain uncertain about the effectiveness of the 8,300 air strikes the global coalition has carried out in Iraq and Syria since September 2014.
Labour leader Corbyn said that “to oppose another reckless and half-baked intervention isn’t pacifism”.
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“No, we would have to continue with those air strikes”.
