UK Air Force jets conduct their first airstrike against ISIS in Syria
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LONDON: Britain has carried out its first airstrike in Syria, hours after MPs voted overwhelmingly to authorize military action. Four RAF Tornado jets were seen taking off from the Akrotiri base in Cyprus early on Thursday morning and the Ministry of Defence later confirmed they had carried out the “first offensive operation over Syria and have conducted strikes”. The RAF jets carry a range of munitions including Paveway IV guided bombs and precision-guided Brimstone missiles. The strikes were focused on six targets in an ISIS-controlled oilfield in eastern Syria, the BBC reported. The British defence secretary, Michael Fallon, confirmed that eight more jets – two Tornados and six Typhoons – were being sent to Akrotiri to join the attacks. “We are doubling our strike force. The additional eight aircraft being sent to Akrotiri are now in the air and on their way,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “These are the aircraft that the coalition has been asking for.” The defence secretary indicated that military action against ISIS could be expected to continue for years, rather than months, “This is not going to be quick.”(The guardian).
