Updated: update
Latest updateWednesday 19 October – Typhoons and a Reaper provided close air support around Mosul, engaging six targets, including a large truck-bomb being driven towards an Iraqi unit.
Thursday 20 October – Tornados killed a group of terrorists engaged in combat with Iraqi troops in the Tigris valley, south of Mosul. Typhoons and a Reaper also continued to support troops to the north and east of the city, attacking eleven targets including a command post, heavy-machine-guns, mortars and rocket-launchers.
DetailCoalition aircraft have continued intensive air operations to support the Iraqi offensive to liberate Mosul, with the Royal Air Force playing a significant role.
On Wednesday 19 October, a Reaper scouted ahead of Iraqi troops advancing to the south-east of the city. A terrorist rocket-propelled grenade team were identified and eliminated using a Hellfire missile. The Reaper then provided surveillance support to two successful attacks by coalition fast jets on larger groups of terrorists, before conducting a further Hellfire attack itself. The aircraft’s surveillance sensors then spotted a large armoured truck-bomb emerging from cover and being driven at speed towards an Iraqi unit. An immediate attack with a Hellfire missile struck the vehicle, which crashed out of control, and the would-be suicide bomber abandoned the truck and fled. Another group of terrorists were later identified and attacked with a fourth Hellfire. Meanwhile, to the north of Mosul, Paveway IV-armed Typhoons destroyed two Daesh-held buildings.
Reaper support to the south-east of Mosul continued on Thursday 20 October. Hellfire missiles destroyed a truck-mounted heavy machine-gun and another vehicle which had been spotted being loaded with a mortar and ammunition. Two more Daesh mortar teams were destroyed with a further Hellfire and a GBU-12 guided bomb. In the Tigris valley south of Mosul, a Tornado flight intervened in a combat between Iraqi troops and a dispersed group of terrorists. Two Paveway IVs accounted for the extremists. Meanwhile, two flights of Typhoons patrolled the northern arc around Mosul, where they engaged seven terrorist targets with Paveway IVs. These included: a rocket-launcher north-west of the city, a sniper team and a Daesh-held building to the north, and to the north-east a pair of heavy machine-guns, a strongpoint, and a command post which was controlling truck-bomb attacks.
Previous air strikesSaturday 1 October: A Reaper provided surveillance support to a coalition air strike north-west of Mosul. It then used one of its own Hellfires to attack a Daesh position.
Sunday 2 October: A Reaper was again active north of Mosul, near Tall Kayf. A Hellfire destroyed a digger which was being used by the terrorists to construct a defensive position. To the east of Mosul, Tornados used an Enhanced Paveway II bomb and a Paveway IV to attack a headquarters building and a group of Daesh extremists. The same day, to the south-east of Mosul, near Qaraqosh, Typhoons used Paveway IVs in a simultaneous attack on three Daesh-held buildings where a large group of fighters had assembled, including local commanders. A second Typhoon pair meanwhile operated over a large swathe of Iraqi territory. North of Ramadi, they destroyed a mortar team. They then headed north to the Bayji area where further Paveway attacks dealt with a terrorist strongpoint and transport vehicle.
Monday 3 October: Royal Air Force Typhoons provided close air support to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), attacking Daesh positions in eastern Syria. A group of terrorists were identified holding a building in a rural area. The SDF held back while the Typhoons conducted a successful strike, demolishing the target with Paveway IV guided bombs. Across the border in northern Iraq, Tornados provided support to Iraqi forces clearing Daesh from the Tigris valley south of Mosul. The aircraft used another Paveway IV to destroy a terrorist communications installation north of Al Hawd.
Tuesday 4 October: A Reaper remotely piloted aircraft conducted armed reconnaissance north of Mosul. The Reaper’s crew located a large fuel tanker dug-in as part of the defensive positions constructed by Daesh near Batnay. The tanker was burning oil to create a smoke screen in order to shield Daesh fighters against attacking ground forces. The Reaper scored a direct hit with a GBU-12 guided bomb. The Reaper then provided surveillance support to a coalition air strike against nearby positions.
Wednesday 5 October: Tornados were again in action south of Mosul, where they bombed an armed truck. In central Iraq, Typhoons attacked a small group of terrorists who had been spotted north of Taji. Working in close concert with a coalition surveillance aircraft, the Typhoons successfully killed the extremists with two Paveway IV attacks.
Thursday 6 October: With Iraqi operations to isolate Mosul continuing, Royal Air Force aircraft continued to provide close air support on. To the north and west of the city, a Reaper successfully engaged with Hellfire missiles both a mortar team and a group of terrorists caught in the open. The same day, a Tornado mission used an Enhanced Paveway II guided bomb against the entrance to a Daesh tunnel network. In eastern Syria, Typhoons used a Paveway IV guided bomb in a successful attack on a Daesh command post.
Friday 7 October: Typhoons patrolled over western Iraq, where they used Paveway IVs to destroy two trucks carrying Daesh extremists as they drove along a desert track. In the Tigris valley south of Mosul, two Tornado flights supported Iraqi troops near Al Hawd and Sharqat. A Brimstone missile attack from one Tornado pair eliminated a mortar position, while the second pair used two Paveway IVs and a Brimstone in three attacks which accounted for a large, dispersed group of terrorists on the river bank.
Sunday 9 October: Tornados continued their work over the Tigris, when they destroyed a mortar team and a nearby ammunition stockpile near Qayyarah, with a pair of Paveway IVs. North of Mosul, a Reaper worked alongside two Typhoons. The Reaper provided surveillance support to a highly effective artillery bombardment that destroyed a Daesh training camp. It then tracked two terrorists as they moved to a rocket launching position, where they were seen working under the cover of some trees. A Hellfire missile killed the terrorists and the Typhoons then followed up with a Paveway IV attack to destroy the rockets.
Coalition aircraft have been providing intensive air support to Iraqi ground forces as they work to isolate Daesh terrorists holding Mosul. The Royal Air Force has been heavily committed to this operation, with Tornado, Typhoon and Reaper aircraft providing close air support, and Airseeker and Sentinel strategic surveillance aircraft gathering intelligence. On the ground British military instructors are, with coalition colleagues, helping train, mentor and equip many of the forces engaged in the Mosul operation.
Welcoming the start of operations to liberate Mosul, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:
Daesh are on the back foot. The beginning of the encirclement of Mosul today is a big moment in our efforts to rid Iraq of Daesh. Mosul is a large and complex city and operations there will be tough but with Coalition support Iraqi forces will prevail.
Alongside our Coalition partners, the UK will continue to play a leading role in the air and on the ground, including through our strike missions, specialised surveillance, humanitarian support and the mentoring and training of Iraqi forces.
Monday 10 October: A pair of Typhoons from RAF Akrotiri used two Paveway IV guided bombs to destroy the entrances to tunnels beneath an embankment near Qaraqosh. They then flew to the north-west of Mosul where they used another Paveway to silence a mortar team on the northern bank of the Tigris, which had been firing on the advancing Kurdish forces. To the north-east of the city, two Tornados used an Enhanced Paveway II to destroy a terrorist anti-tank missile position. They then followed up with a Paveway IV to ensure the destruction of an associated ammunition supply point.
Tuesday 11 October: Tornados conducted another successful attack north-west of Mosul on a tunnel, which had been identified as a weapons cache.
Wednesday 12 October: An intensive series of strikes in northern Iraq. North of Mosul, near Tall Kayf, a Reaper scored a direct hit with a Hellfire missile on an artillery piece hidden beneath a tarpaulin. A Tornado pair used a Brimstone missile to destroy a rocket-armed truck in the Qayyarah region, while Typhoons bombed a mortar team north-east of Mosul. The Tornado and Typhoon flights then combined for a joint attack near Qaraqosh on a set of workshops manufacturing explosives. Seven Enhanced Paveway II and Paveway IV bombs, plus a Brimstone, were used to destroy the facility and a number of Daesh vehicles at the site. A second combined Tornado and Typhoon flight meanwhile headed to the south-west of Kirkuk, where they destroyed a truck-bomb facility with Enhanced Paveway II and Paveway IV weapons.
Friday 14 October: North-west of Mosul, Paveway IV-armed Typhoons successfully bombed five rocket launchers. They then moved to support a Reaper which had located a terrorist mortar position and ammunition stockpile. The Reaper attacked the mortar with a GBU-12 guided bomb, and the Typhoons followed up with a strike on the munitions stockpile.
Sunday 16 October: A Reaper again patrolled to the north-west of Mosul, where it engaged an artillery piece with a Hellfire, then provided targeting support to three attacks by coalition fast jets on terrorist mortar positions. One flight of Typhoons operated to the west of Mosul, using Paveway IVs to destroy two Daesh-held buildings, while a second flight operated to the east, attacking four terrorist positions.
Monday 17 October: A Reaper kept close watch on Daesh positions near Qaraqosh to the south-east of Mosul. Our aircraft provided surveillance support to a coalition fast jet attack on a terrorist mortar team. The Reaper then conducted attacks using its own weapons on four targets. These attacks included a GBU-12 guided bomb, which accounted for a mortar. Hellfire missiles also destroyed an armed truck and two heavy weapons teams, including one armed with a recoilless anti-tank gun which had opened fire on the advancing Iraqis. To the south of the city, a Typhoon flight was able to use a Paveway IV guided bomb to dispose safely of a large truck-bomb before it could be used.
RAF destroys Daesh truck bomb near Mosul
Tuesday 18 October: A Reaper was again in action south-east of Mosul on Tuesday 18 October. A Hellfire missile killed a group of terrorists engaged in combat with Iraqi troops. A second Hellfire also accounted for another group of extremists as they moved between positions, and a third destroyed an armed truck. North-east of the city, a pair of Typhoons used Paveway IVs to destroy a number of improvised explosive devices laid in a defensive belt, as well as a weapons stockpile and a Daesh strong-point.
Details of previous airstrikes can be found here.
For more information see Daesh: UK government response page on GOV.UK
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/update-air-strikes-against-daesh
seen at 18:30, 21 October in Announcements on GOV.UK.Email this to a friend.