British aircraft assist in liberation of Mosul

[Zarvan]

Tornados, Typhoons and a Reaper attacked four terrorist positions in support of operations to liberate Mosul.

Earlier in the week, a Reaper provided overwatch to Iraqi troops engaged in street fighting at Abasi in northern Iraq. Its crew used Hellfire missiles against two groups of terrorists, including a light machine-gun team.

In Mosul itself, a mortar was spotted in an area of heavily wooded parkland. It was destroyed by a Paveway IV guided bomb from a Typhoon flight.

North of the city, Tornados used a Brimstone missile to kill several terrorists as they manoeuvred along a street.

Recently the Ministry of Defence revealed that British aircraft have carried out more than a thousand air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

In October 2014, the Ministry of Defence announced the deployment of an undisclosed number of MQ-9 Reaper unmanned combat aerial vehicles to assist with surveillance. However, Michael Fallon stated that the Reapers could also conduct airstrikes alongside the Tornado GR4s, if needed.

The first airstrike conducted by a Reaper occurred in November 2014.

By September 2015 – a full year after the operation first began – Tornado and Reaper aircraft had flown over 1,300 missions against Islamic State.

According to Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, the UK had conducted a “huge number of missions” over Iraq by December 2014, second only to the United States and five times as many as France.

By February 2015, the UK had contributed 6% of all coalition airstrikes in Iraq – a contribution second only to the United States – which the Defence Select Committee described as “modest”.

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