British aircraft have continued to conduct air operations against Islamic State with no civilian casualties.
The following recent action has taken place according to a Ministry of Defence press release:
- Monday 27 June – Typhoons provided close air support to Syrian democratic forces fighting in Manbij.
- Tuesday 28 June – Typhoons provided further support over Manbij, whilst a Reaper assisted Iraqi ground forces near Sharqat.
- Wednesday 29 June – Typhoons and two Reapers struck Daesh terrorist retreating from Fallujah, a third Reaper continued operations near Sharqat.
“On Monday 27 June, while Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s conducted reconnaissance missions to gather intelligence on Daesh activity, Typhoon FGR4s and Reaper remotely piloted aircraft provided support to both Syrian democratic forces and Iraqi units. The same day, in Syria, a pair of Typhoons conducted a successful attack with Paveway IV guided bombs against a Daesh strongpoint on the south-western outskirts of Manbij.
Typhoons executed a similar attack on Tuesday 28 June against a mortar position close to Manbij. Over Iraq, a Reaper supported Iraqi ground forces near Sharqat in the north of the country. The Reaper used Hellfire missiles against two groups of extremists caught in the open, including a machine-gun team engaged in combat with the Iraqi troops.
Typhoons and Reapers conducted a number of attacks on Wednesday 29 June against Daesh terrorists fleeing in the face of Iraqi operations in Fallujah. A Typhoon struck two vehicles and a large group of extremists with Paveway IV bombs west of Fallujah and two Reapers destroyed a further four vehicles and a group of fighters, using Hellfire missiles and a GBU-12 guided bomb. One Reaper observed the Daesh vehicles refusing to stop and pick up fellow armed extremists trying to escape on foot. Another Reaper was active near Sharqat, where it destroyed two vehicles with Hellfire missiles and attacked a group of terrorists with a GBU-12 bomb.”
British strikes have killed over 1,000 Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq since bombing began with zero civilian casualties.
Figures released under Freedom of Information laws revealed 974 militants were killed by Royal Air Force strikes in Iraq between September 2014 and last month.
“Our records show that there were no civilian casualties for the period in question” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement accompanying the information. The period in question, by the way, is the entirety of the UK’s bombing campaign.
Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the British participation in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State. The operation began in Iraq on the 26th of September 2014, following a formal request for assistance by the Iraqi government.
