In conjunction with Britain's admission of responsibility for "the emergence of IS" in Syria, unexpectedly expressed by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair during an interview with CNN concerning the "Second Gulf War" (2003- 2011), the website of the British Ministry of Defense has published a report of the last missions in support of the fight against ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq).
The article cites the latest efforts by the United Kingdom to support Iraqi troops in the struggle to free their country from fundamentalist terrorist organizations. Several British specialists are still engaged in training the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga. In addition to the conventional infantry training courses, much attention is given to the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and C-IED courses, providing 1000 VALLON IED detectors to avert the bombs that Iraqi villages are scattered about.
However, as we can see, it is the Royal Air Force, simultaneously engaged with the international coalition to oppose IS in Syria, to continue to make a significant contribution from the Iraqi skies. The GR4 Tornadoes and MQ-9 Reaper drones carry out daily reconnaissance missions and when identified identify the ISIL forces.
With respect to the last few days, the press cites:
- On October 7, a Tornado couple took action in support of the Kurdish security forces (Peshmerga) taken under a mortar fire west of Kirkuk. The heavy weapon and its minions were eliminated by a laser-guided Paveway IV bomb.
- The 8 October, a Reaper has identified an ISIL shelter. The Reaper's remote crew then successfully carried the attack, eliminating the target with a Hellfire anti-tank missile.
- The 11 October, a Tornado GR4s again provided close air support to Kurdish forces north of Mosul. Another ISIL mortar that targeted a peshmerga detachment was silenced by Paveway IV.
- On 16 October, the RAF Tornado GR4s dropped a Paveway laser-guided missile again to destroy an ISIL station with a heavy machine gun.
- On October 18 a Reaper patrolling in front of an Iraqi troop formation identified and eliminated two bomb trucks using two Hellfire missiles.
Regarding air strikes in the previous weeks:
- 1 September, a Reaper patrolling the border between Iraq and Syria identifies a vehicle placed under ISIL checkpoint surveillance and eliminates it with an anti-tank missile.
- 2 September, a Reaper provides air support to Iraqi army units operating in western Iraq. The drone has successfully completed four attacks on 4 several targets. One of these was a small boat. ISIL militants had been sighted loading hundreds of mortars and ammunition on a small boat along the Euphrates river, near Ramadi, probably for smuggling purposes. A Hellfire hit it by sinking it with the entire load. The Reaper then destroyed three vehicles: two armored trucks and a bulldozer.
- 3 September, a Reaper detects and eliminates another load of mortar ammunition with a Hellfire.
- 4 September, a Reaper patrol lends support to Iraqi forces by lightening a formation of terrorists who had attacked them with RPG fire.
- 6 September, two Tornado GR4s carry out four strikes with Paveway missiles on different ISIL machine gun nests near Sinjar.
- 7 September, a Reaper destroys an ammo truck. A second reconnaissance drone identifies a vast network of ISIL bunkers and trenches and brings 5 attacks to neutralize the target. On the same day, near Bayji, a pair of Tornado GR4s lends close air support to Iraqi troops by destroying three terrorist-occupied buildings with Paveway missiles. 8 September: a patrolling Reaper on western Iraq discovers large stocks of explosives near the Euphrates River. It precedes with the neutralization of the objectives.
- 9 September, a Reaper launches a Hellfire anti-tank missile to destroy two vehicles that the terrorists prepared for a car bomb.
- 10 September: a Reaper on a patrol mission identifies and eliminates a group of ISIL fighters seen coming down in front of a building identified as a possible "den". Both the building and the vehicle used by the terrorists are destroyed with Hellfire missiles. On the same day several Reaper and Tornado lend close support to Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
- 11 September, a Reaper is used to support a Kurdish detachment.
- 13 September, Near Sinjar, in northern Iraq, a Paveway dropped from a Tornado centers a group of terrorists armed with RPGs.
- 14 September, a Tornado formation on patrol near Mosul attacking an ISIL position. A Reaper in Anbar province attacks terrorists involved in the preparation of an explosive trap.
- 15 September, a Reaper eliminates ISIL fighters armed with rocket launchers in western Iraq. He continues by dropping a Hellfire against a group of terrorists engaged in arming a "daisy-chain" of various types of explosive devices and employs a guided GBU-12 bomb against a location that opens fire.
- 16 September, Tornado GR4s bombed two terrorist positions, including one armed with a heavy machine gun, which opened fire on Iraqi forces.
- 19 September, Tornado GR4s lend first close air support to a group of Kurdish peshmerga near Sinjar, then after being aired by a Voyager tanker, they support other Kurdish forces in Mosul.
20 September, a Reaper launches a Hellfire and neutralizes an explosive deposit in western Iraq.
- 21 September, another Reaper remote piloting device identifies a convoy of two vehicles carrying ISIL fighters and eliminates them with a Hellfire.
- 24 September, a pair of GR4s execute another strike near Mosul after requesting air support to assist Kurdish forces under fire from an ISIL mortar. Target destroyed with Paveway missile.
- 27 September, a patrolling Reaper engages a Hellfire missile during a surveillance mission: several terrorists were moving between two buildings.
- 29 September, also in northern Iraq, a Reaper traces a car carrying several ISIL extremists, eliminates the target and is then engaged in supporting operations nearby.
- 30 September, two Tornado GR4s provide support west of Kirkuk. During the operation they are refueled in flight by a KC2 Voyager tanker. They eliminate several machine gun nests with laser guided missiles.
- 1 October, a Reaper in support of the Kurdish peshmerga eliminates a group of terrorists with a Hellfire missile. That of October 1st is indicated as the last offensive carried out against what was presumed to remain of the ISIL terrorist network in northern Iraq.
- 2 October, Tornado GR4s taking off from the RAF base in Akrotiri, Island of Cyprus, provide close air support to the Kurdish peshmerga southwest of Kirkuk. ISIL extremists are eliminated with a Paveway IV bomb. In the same span of time in the southern and westernmost areas, a Reaper monitors a coalition air strike on an ISIL building and neutralizes an armored van. A second drone eliminates a machine gun hidden in the trees that targeted an international coalition fighter-bomber.
- 4 October, Panavia Tornado GR4s on patrol over western Iraq destroy an ISIL position equipped with an anti-aircraft gun by dropping a Paveway IV. An MQ-9 Reaper drone operates in the same hours on Anbar province in support of the Da'ish coalition raids. Eliminate a heavy machine gun.
- 5 October, A Reaper on a mission in the west of the country identifies and eliminates a terrorist group intent on placing an explosive device. The target is centered with a Hellfire missile.
(photo: MoD UK)
