Ministry of Defence
Latest update
British aircraft have continued intensive armed reconnaissance patrols over Syria and Iraq, striking a number of Daesh terrorist positions.
On Tuesday 26 January, in the west of Iraq, a pair of GR4s conducted three attacks with Paveway IV guided bombs against a weapons stockpile, a terrorist fighting position, and a truck armed with an anti-aircraft gun. Further north, GR4s provided close air support to Kurdish troops near Kirkuk; a Paveway was used to strike a Daesh-held building. The GR4s then attacked a group of terrorists hidden inside a pair of caves overlooking the Little Zab River. The Tornados launched a pair of Brimstone missiles, which scored direct hits on both of the cave entrances. Meanwhile in Syria, Tornados used six Brimstones to attack mobile cranes south-west of Raqqa, highly valued by Daesh when attempting to repair damage inflicted by air strikes.
On Wednesday 27 January, Typhoon FGR4s patrolled east of Ramadi and used a Paveway to destroy a terrorist armoured personnel carrier, then, north of Habbaniyah, worked with another coalition aircraft to deliver a successful Paveway attack against a group of terrorists engaged in combat with Iraqi troops. In northern Iraq, between Qayyarah and Mosul, a Tornado mission destroyed a Daesh vehicle with a Paveway IV.
The following day Typhoons in action north of Habbaniyah conducted four successful attacks on Daesh positions, including a heavy machine-gun team. In north-western Iraq, Tornados bombed both a mortar and a heavy machine-gun position, while other Tornados and a Reaper operated east of Ramadi; the GR4s destroyed an armed vehicle, parked under cover, with a Brimstone, and the Reaper used a Hellfire missile to destroy an armoured truck extensive secondary explosions suggest that it had been converted into a large truck bomb.
Throughout these missions, the Tornados and Typhoons received essential support from RAF Voyager air refuelling tankers, with Sentinel strategic surveillance aircraft also flying invaluable missions to gather intelligence on Daesh movements. On the ground, British military instructors continue to play a significant role within the coalitions intensive training programme to help prepare Iraqi units for the fight against the terrorists.
Previous air strikes
1 January: An RAF Reaper supported coalition air strikes in Ramadi, and on 2 January, another Reaper used a Hellfire missile to destroy a mortar position near Fallujah.
3 January: A busy day for RAF aircraft: Typhoons delivered four successful attacks in Ramadi against terrorist positions, including a mortar team. A second Typhoon mission over Ramadi conducted no less than six attacks, accounting for five machine-guns and a sniper position. Near Haditha, Tornados destroyed a truck-bomb, while a Reaper used Hellfires against two armed pick-up trucks and a group of terrorist fighters. Over northern Iraq, two more flights of Tornado GR4s successfully attacked a total of two mortar and four machine-gun positions.
Daesh terrorists have suffered further losses following intensive Royal Air Force strikes as part of the coalitions air campaign over Iraq and Syria.
4 January: A pair of RAF Typhoon FGR4s operated over northern Iraq and used Paveway IV precision guided bombs to attack eight terrorist mortar and rocket positions. Meanwhile, Tornado GR4s provided close air support to the Iraqi army as they continue their operations to eliminate the remaining terrorist fighters in and around Ramadi. When an Iraqi unit came under rocket-propelled grenade and mortar fire from several Daesh-held buildings, the GR4s conducted a very accurate attack on all four buildings using Paveway IVs. The Tornados were tasked to deal with a group of terrorists who were preparing for a counter-attack. Despite this being a difficult target for most weapons, the GR4s were able to score a direct hit with a Brimstone missile.
An RAF Reaper was also patrolling over Ramadi it provided surveillance support for three air strikes by coalition fast jets, and also conducted two attacks using its own weapons, employing a GBU-12 laser guided bomb against a Daesh machine-gun team, and destroyed two terrorist trucks with a single Hellfire missile. On Monday evening, a Tornado patrol, supported as ever by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, used a Paveway IV to strike a Daesh-held building near Mosul.
5 January: RAF Typhoon patrols over Ramadi continued, they used Paveways to destroy two terrorist machine-gun positions, as well as an anti-aircraft gun that had opened fire on an Iraqi Air Force helicopter. Near Haditha, Reapers provided close air support to Iraqi security forces as Daesh attempted to mount an attack on them Hellfire missiles and a GBU-12 were used against two armed pick-up trucks, two machine-gun teams and groups of terrorist fighters. In the area around Mosul, Tornado GR4s hit two Daesh rocket teams.
6 January: Following their loss of control of key areas in Ramadi, Daesh extremists attempted to mount attacks against Iraqi ground forces near Haditha. Coalition aircraft provided extensive close air support to Iraqi troops, and a pair of RAF Tornado GR4s used two Paveway IV bombs in attacks on with an Iraqi terrorists who were engaged in close combat unit. The Typhoons then flew south to Ramadi, where operations continued as the Iraqis sought to eliminate those Daesh positions that remain in the city. Working closely with other coalition aircraft, the Typhoons conducted four Paveway attacks, destroying two machine-gun positions and two armoured personnel carriers.
In northern Iraq, Tornado GR4s supported Kurdish forces; south of Sinjar, a Paveway IV destroyed a terrorist team manning rocket launchers, while near Mosul, three fighting positions and three accommodation blocks used by Daesh were destroyed by six Paveways. Later in the day, Typhoons were once again over Ramadi, where they struck two terrorist positions, including a heavy machine-gun team that was firing on Iraqi troops.
7 January: Operations over Ramadi continued with Typhoons delivering six successful Paveway IV attacks on Daesh positions, including two more machine-gun teams. In the north, the Tornados were likewise again patrolling over Mosul and Kisik, and these missions used Paveways against a group of extremists and a rocket position.
8 January: Tornado GR4s conducted two more Paveway attacks near Mosul, striking rocket and machine-gun teams.
10 January: The focus turned to a series of targets inside Syria. Near Raqqa, a pair of Tornados bombed a pair of Daesh-held buildings, one of which was a confirmed command and control centre, and used a Brimstone missile to destroy a supply truck. A second pair of GR4s dropped four Paveway IVs on a tunnel complex, again near Raqqa, whilst a Reaper engaged a terrorist position with a Hellfire missile. During the evening, a further Tornado flight and a Reaper used a combination of Brimstone and Hellfire missiles to attack a number of mobile cranes brought in by Daesh to attempt to repair the severe damage inflicted by previous RAF and coalition air strikes on the Omar oil field.
11 January: A milestone was passed on Monday morning when an RAF Reaper flew the 1,000th sortie by the type since they were committed to operations against Daesh in October 2014.
Iraqi ground forces have made repeated successful advances against the Daesh terrorist network, with recent major successes at Sinjar and Ramadi. Mosul remains the largest Iraqi town held by the terrorists, and they have concentrated much of their command and control functions within the city. Patient intelligence assessment allowed a walled compound in the northern part of Mosul to be identified as a major headquarters of the Daesh security organisation, which is responsible for terrorising the civilian population and indeed demoralised elements of their own membership into compliance, and is thus associated with many of the terrorists worst atrocities inside Syria and Iraq. Very careful planning allowed three key targets within the compound to be identified, and an attack carefully planned to minimise any risks to civilians in Mosul.
11 January: RAF aircraft have also continued very active air operations against Daesh targets inside Syria. A Reaper identified a terrorist check point one of the methods used by Daesh to attempt to impose their will on the civilian population and successfully attacked it using a Hellfire missile.
12 January: Reapers maintained surveillance over the oilfields in eastern Syria which have been targeted by coalition air strikes, including by the RAF, to deny Daesh the ability to use the oil to finance their operations. The Reapers identified a mechanical excavator which was being used to attempt repairs, and an oil pump which had evidently been brought back on line, and destroyed both with Hellfire missiles. In north-eastern Syria, Tornado GR4s meanwhile patrolled in the area of Al Hasakah, where they used Paveway IVs to strike two Daesh-held strongpoints. While other coalition aircraft conducted a series of strikes on a range of other key Daesh targets within Mosul, Typhoon FGR4s from RAF Akrotiri, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, used Paveway IV guided bombs to attack the security headquarters compound