It has been revealed that Reaper killed terrorists armed with rocket-propelled grenades, whilst Tornado and Typhoon jets dealt with three sniper teams and three other defended positions.

According to the Ministry of Defence, in the course of surveillance over Raqqa on Sunday the 16th of July, a Reaper delivered a Hellfire missile attack which killed a small group of terrorists armed with rocket-propelled grenades, who had been firing on the Syrian Democratic Forces from a rooftop.

Tornados and Typhoons were also very active over the city, and used a Brimstone missile to attack one terrorist firing point, and Paveway IVs to deal with three sniper teams and two other positions defended by Daesh extremists.

Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon said:

“Mosul may have been freed from the brutal grip of Daesh, but the battle against this dangerous death-cult is far from over. Over the weekend the RAF repeatedly struck Daesh targets in Raqqa, their Syrian stronghold, with precision and purpose.

It is key that we maintain momentum in the campaign to remove Daesh from Syria and the remaining towns across Iraq, both to stop the spread of a poisonous ideology and to help keep us safe at home.”

The UK has been the second largest contributor to the air campaign in Iraq and Syria. UK aircraft have flown over 3,000 missions as part of Operation Shader, and as of the beginning of November 2016 had conducted 1,115 airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria (1,048 and 67 respectively).

In July 2016 the MoD acknowledged that “the RAF has not operated at this sustained operational tempo in a single theatre of conflict for a quarter of a century”.

The Government has consistently maintained that no civilian casualties in Iraq or Syria, to date, have resulted from UK air strikes however it adds “no military operations come without risk, particularly in dense urban environments and against such inhuman Daesh tactics, the RAF continues to take all steps necessary to minimise civilian casualties.”

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George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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Mike Saul
Mike Saul
6 years ago

While we discuss the rights and wrongs of UK defence policy it is important to remember that UK service personnel are engaged in combat operations in Syria.

Recently got back from a holiday in Cyprus and saw( and heard) RAF combat aircraft taking off and landing from Akrotiri on a daily basis.

david steeper
6 years ago

How much does a Hellfire cost ? How much does an RPG cost ? During the napoleonic wars they had a saying about this kind of disparity between cost and benefit ‘breaking windows with golden guineas’

Mike Saul
Mike Saul
6 years ago
Reply to  david steeper

I don’t think there is any appetite for British boots on the ground as a cost effective solution to the problem of ISIS.

Will
Will
6 years ago

Sledgehammer takes out nut.

Steve
Steve
6 years ago
Reply to  Will

Nut loses – job done.

Graham Robertson
Graham Robertson
6 years ago

Appalling waste of money, leave it to Assad and the Syrian army.