Updated: update
SummaryThursday 20 April – Typhoons supported Syrian Democratic Forces, striking a Daesh-held building north-west of Raqqa, and a mortar team hiding in a tunnel in the east of the country.
Friday 21 April – Tornados struck a Daesh supply vehicle and a group of fighters engaged in close combat with Iraqi troops in Mosul.
Saturday 22 April – Tornados took part in a Coalition attack on Daesh accommodation and vehicle sheds south-east of Rawah, and two engineering vehicles in Mosul.
Sunday 23 April – Typhoons destroyed an armed truck south-west of Tabqah in Syria, while Tornados bombed a Daesh position in western Mosul.
DetailThe RAF is continuing to support Iraqi forces in their effort to liberate western Mosul. While the operating environment in the city is very challenging, particularly given the closely-packed buildings, very narrow streets, and the density of the urban population, our aircrew have continued to deliver precision strikes in close support of Iraqi troops on the ground. Daesh’s current tactics, including the illegal use of civilians as human shields, and fighting from sites such as schools, hospitals, religious sites and civilian neighbourhoods, increases the risk to innocent life. While 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 causalities.
The RAF assisted Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Thursday 20 April. A pair of Typhoons struck a Daesh-held building to the north-west of Raqqa. The Typhoons then hit a Daesh mortar team hiding in a tunnel in the east of the country.
RAF Tornados provided close air support over western Mosul on Friday 21 April. A pick-up truck used by Daesh was destroyed with a Brimstone missile. The Tornados then struck a group of Daesh fighters in a building which had been firing on Iraqi troops.
Tornado patrols over Mosul continued on Saturday 22 April, when the aircraft used Brimstone missiles to destroy two vehicles used by Daesh. Two other Tornados struck a group of Daesh buildings to the south-east of Rawah, in western Iraq.
On Sunday 23 April, Typhoons assisted the SDF, destroying an armed truck near Tabqah, west of Raqqa. In western Mosul, a Daesh-held building was struck by a Paveway IV, released by a Tornado flight, after Iraqi troops came under fire from the building.
UK contribution to the fight against Daesh Map of UK forces committed to Operation Shader Campaign against Daesh Map of Daesh losses and gains in Iraq and Syria since September 2014 Previous updateSunday 2 April: Tornados, supported by a Voyager air tanker, patrolled over western Mosul. When Iraqi forces came under Daesh mortar fire, the Tornados’ aircrew were able to identify the mortar team firing their weapon out of the ground floor of a large building. This allowed the Tornados to achieve a clear line of fire for a Brimstone missile, which scored a direct hit on the mortar team while causing minimal damage to the rest of the building.
Monday 3 April: Tornados and Typhoons conducted attacks in western Mosul, also against Daesh mortars. The Typhoons had to bomb through cloud, but the Iraqi ground forces, only metres away, reported that the terrorist position had been struck accurately. The Tornados, also hampered by cloud, targeted a mortar that was firing on an Iraqi unit from the top storey of a tall building. A Paveway IV was employed with a carefully selected fuse setting, and it successfully demolished just the uppermost storey, leaving the rest of the building intact.
Wednesday 5 April: Royal Air Force Typhoons provided close air support to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as they consolidated their hold on the huge Tabqah Dam to the west of Raqqa. Daesh had tried, in their desperation, to counter-attack with suicide truck-bombs, so the Typhoons conducted an air strike to cut the approach road to the SDF positions and make any further truck-bomb attacks much more difficult. Given attempts by both Daesh and Russia to claim falsely that Coalition air attacks have been directed at the dam itself, it is important to emphasise that the Typhoons’ target was two miles to the south-east and posed no threat whatsoever to the dam’s structural integrity. A pair of Tornados meanwhile supported the Iraqi forces driving Daesh out of western Mosul, and used a Paveway IV guided bomb to engage a mortar position. The Tornados then flew down to Iraq’s western desert, where other Iraqi troops were operating against Daesh to the south of Al Qaim. A Brimstone missile was used to destroy a motorcycle combination carrying three terrorists at speed over the desert and a second Brimstone eliminated a light machine-gun position.
Thursday 6 April: A Tornado and a Typhoon flew as a pair, armed with a mix of Paveway IVs and Brimstone missiles. Over north-western Mosul, they engaged a Daesh motor team who were moving to a new position on a truck. A number of unidentified individuals were seen on foot nearby, so our aircrew waited patiently until they had moved away from the immediate proximity of the vehicle. A Brimstone missile, which has a smaller warhead than a Paveway, was then used to destroy the target. The RAF flight then patrolled an area some 25 miles west of Kirkuk, where they were able to track a truck carrying a terrorist team who had been planting booby traps, scoring a direct hit on the moving vehicle with another Brimstone missile.
Friday 7 April: A Reaper remotely piloted aircraft flew overwatch for Iraqi troops in west Mosul. Coalition surveillance aircraft identified two Daesh mortar teams: one firing from the doorway of a building, the other from a small courtyard. The Reaper’s crew were able to conduct successful attacks with Hellfire missiles which accounted for both teams.
Saturday 8 April: A Tornado and Typhoon pair used two Paveway IVs to strike a truck-bomb factory in Mosul.
Sunday 9 April: Two Tornados patrolled the Iraqi border with Syria, where they bombed a stockpile of home-made explosives near Al Qaim.
Wednesday 12 April, two Typhoons came to the assistance of Iraqi troops when they came under fire from a sniper team in Mosul. A single Paveway IV guided bomb successfully dealt with the threat.
Thursday 13 April: Typhoons patrolled over Raqqa. North of the city, Syrian Democratic Forces reported being in very close combat with a group of seven, strongly defended, Daesh positions. Despite heavy cloud, the Typhoons were able to destroy one position on their first pass, then having confirmed the exact location of the other six targets, struck all of those simultaneously with Paveway IVs on a second pass.
Friday 14 April: Tornados focused their efforts over Mosul, where Iraqi troops identified a car-bomb that had been positioned on a road leading out of the north of the city. A Brimstone missile destroyed the booby-trapped vehicle with a direct hit.
Saturday 15 April: A further Tornado patrol supported Iraqi forces engaged in a firefight with Daesh positioned in a large building in western Mosul. Two Paveway IVs silenced the terrorist fire. Meanwhile, Typhoons continued their support for the SDF as they pushed east from Tabqah towards Raqqa, bombing a terrorist-held building.
Sunday 16 April: Two flights of Tornados active over Mosul. Each flight conducted a successful attack with a Brimstone missile, accounting for a terrorist position on top of a building and an engineering vehicle used by Daesh to construct defensive positions.
Monday 17 April: Tornados operated over western Iraq, where a heavy machine-gun had been spotted, concealed within a grove of trees at Rawah. A single Paveway IV destroyed the weapon. Typhoons continued their support to the SDF west of Raqqah, and conducted a successful Paveway attack on a group of terrorists positioned in a treeline to the south of Tabqah.
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
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