The UK continues to demonstrate its world-leading air capability in the campaign against Daesh’s last major territory, Hajin, with 10 successful air strikes in 19 days over the Christmas period according to the Ministry of Defence.
A combination of Typhoon and Tornado jets, as well as Reaper drones, supported Syrian Democratic Forces on the ground, as Daesh continue to be pushed underground.
British aircraft have also been lending assistance to the Iraqi security forces, to prevent the terrorists from regaining a foothold within the country.
Here is a summary of some recent sorties:
• Wednesday 19 December – Tornados destroyed a truck-bomb concealed inside
• Friday 21 December – a Reaper engaged a group of Daesh extremists south-east of Hajin, whilst Tornados struck two workshops making IEDs.
• Saturday 22 December – a Reaper hit a terrorist heavy weapon and its crew to the south-east of Hajin, and Tornados bombed three Daesh strong-points including a heavy machine-gun position.
• Monday 24 December – Tornados attacked two Daesh-held buildings south-east of Hajin.
• Wednesday 26 December – Typhoons and Tornados struck five terrorist-held buildings and cratered a road south-east of Hajin to prevent Daesh moving along it.
• Thursday 27 December – Typhoons and Tornados hit three Daesh positions south-east of Hajin.
• Friday 28 December – Tornados destroyed a terrorist stockpile of weapons hidden underground in the western deserts of Iraq.
• Monday 31 December – Typhoons bombed a tunnel north of Baghdad where terrorists had taken up residence.
• Tuesday 1 January – a Reaper engaged a small group of extremists south-east of Hajin.
• Sunday 6 January – a Reaper struck terrorists in eastern Syria, to the north of Abu Kamal.
With the SDF pushing south-east from Hajin, Tornado GR4s provided close air support on Wednesday 19 December.
The SDF encountered a truck-bomb concealed inside a
A single Paveway IV guided bomb, on target, allowed them to continue their advance.
Further support was rendered on Friday 21 December by a Reaper and another flight of Tornados.
The Reaper’s crew successfully used a Hellfire missile against a small group of Daesh as they moved across
The following day, a Reaper spotted terrorists manning a heavy weapon and engaged them with a Hellfire which scored a direct hit.
The Reaper then provided surveillance support to a coalition air strike on a Daesh-held building nearby.
Tornados were also active south-east of Hajin, conducting Paveway IV attacks which destroyed a heavy machine-gun position and two other Daesh strong-points.
Further targets were identified on Monday 24 December, when Tornados, as ever supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, bombed two terrorist-held buildings in the path of the SDF advance.
With Daesh continuing to lose ground, it was necessary to prevent them moving men and equipment, most particularly their favoured truck-bombs, along a road towards the SDF; a pair of Typhoons cratered the road with Paveway IVs on Wednesday 26 December.
The Typhoons then joined a Tornado flight in destroying three Daesh-occupied buildings: the Typhoons dealt with one target, the Tornados struck the other two.
The Tornados remained on station to provide further assistance if required by the SDF, and subsequently attacked a further two buildings from which the terrorists were firing.
On Thursday 27 December, Typhoons bombed two more buildings held by Daesh, whilst Tornados hit a third.
Coalition aircraft remain available to support the Iraqi security forces as and when required, to ensure Iraq remains free of Daesh.
Intelligence established that a terrorist stockpile of weapons was concealed deep in the western deserts of Anbar province, and two Tornados were tasked with its destruction on Friday 28 December.
This was accomplished using a pair of Paveway IVs.
Operations continued south-east of Hajin on New Year’s Day, with a Reaper providing overwatch for the SDF.
Surveillance support was given to a coalition air strike on a Daesh strong-point, and the Reaper’s crew then tracked terrorists as they attempted to take up new positions, engaging them with a Hellfire missile.
With the SDF pushing further to the south and east of Hajin, along the road to Abu Kamal, a Reaper again flew overwatch for them on Sunday 6 January.
The Reaper tracked a Daesh group to a compound some miles north of Abu
Two terrorists attempted to take up a new position after the compound was bombed, but were successfully engaged by the Reaper, using a Hellfire missile.
If you have a story, video or one-off blog that you would like to share with us, then you can contact our team of former emergency services & armed forces personnel either through our Facebook page, via Twitter ( @ES_News_ ) or you can contact us via email: contact@emergency-services.news
If you run or manage a ‘job’ social media account and you would like us to share one of your stories then send us a tweet or a message!
If you would like to write an article that you would like us to share (it can be about anything to do with the emergency services / NHS) whether you serve in the emergency services / NHS or whether you are a member of the public that has had a good experience with the emergency services, then feel free to contact our team; anonymously if you prefer.
We are proud to act as a voice for the Emergency Services & Health Service, with over 500,000 people visiting our website each month.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
