British aircraft have continued to conduct air operations against Islamic State.
British strikes have killed 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.
The following recent action has taken place:
- Thursday 16 June – Typhoons provided close air support to Iraqi forces fighting to liberate Fallujah.
- Friday 17 June – A Reaper attacked two terrorist targets in northern Iraq.
- Saturday 18 June – Tornados destroyed a Daesh foreign fighters headquarters complex in north-western Iraq, whilst Reapers engaged terrorists five times in the north of the country, as well as a target in Syria.
- Sunday 19 June – Typhoons conducted attacks on six Daesh positions in central Fallujah, Tornados and a Reaper struck five more targets in northern Iraq.
- Monday 20 June – Tornados destroyed a truck-bomb in eastern Syria, a Reaper conducted three attacks near Raqqah, while other Tornados and Typhoons struck four terrorist positions in Fallujah.
- Tuesday 21 June – Typhoons and a Reaper attacked six targets in northern Iraq.
According to the MoD:
With Iraqi forces making steady progress pushing into Fallujah, two flights of Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s contributed to the coalition’s air support provided on Thursday 16 June. Our aircraft successfully attacked four Daesh machine-gun positions that were identified by the Iraqi ground forces, using Paveway IV guided bombs.
Friday 17 June saw an RAF Reaper patrolling over northern Iraq, north of Bayji. The Reaper’s crew identified a large mortar and a Daesh truck, both were destroyed by Hellfire missiles.
A second Reaper operated in the same area the following day, supporting an offensive by Iraqi forces. It used four Hellfires and a GBU-12 guided bomb to successfully engage three armed pick-up trucks which were firing at the Iraqi troops, a fourth vehicle and a trench position. In north-west Iraq, in Harunah, two pairs of Tornado GR4s, armed with eight 1000lb Enhanced Paveway IIs conducted a pre-planned strike on a complex of buildings which had been identified by intelligence as a headquarters, accommodation and weapons facility for Daesh foreign fighters. All four target buildings were destroyed. Another Reaper patrolled over Syria and attacked a Daesh vehicle south-west of Manbij, destroying it with a Hellfire missile.
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