An RAF Tornado GR4 returns to the Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus, minus one Brimstone missile
RAF jets
have struck ISIS targets in Iraq for the first time today, after the
Foreign Secretary insisted the UK would not be 'panicked' into action.more pics after cut
Tornado
warplanes flying out of Cyprus bombed an ISIS heavy weapons post and
used a missile to destroy a vehicle with a mounted machine gun, the
Ministry of Defence said.
Two
jets launched the attacks in support of Kurdish forces fighting the
jihadist insurgent group, said officials, in the sixth RAF sortie since
Parliament authorised airstrikes.
The Tornado's two remaining Brimstone missiles can be seen beneath its unused Paveway bomb
How the trio of Brimstone missiles usually look when they are freshly loaded onto a Tornado warplane
Defence
Secretary Michael Fallon said: 'I can confirm that the RAF were in
action today in support of the Iraqi government in north west Iraq.
'Two GR4 Tornados from RAF Akrotiri were tasked to assist Kurdish troops who were under attack by Isil terrorists.
'They
identified and attacked a heavy weapon position that was endangering
Kurdish forces and they subsequently attacked an Isil armed pickup truck
in the same area.
'Both Tornados have now returned safely to their base, and initial assessment is that both attacks were successful.'
The
self-designated Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known by the acronym
ISIS, is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil)
and, since declaring its 'caliphate' across a swathe of the Middle East,
simply Islamic State. In Arabic, the group is known by an acronym that
transliterates to 'Da'esh' or 'Dash'.
The
attacks came after Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, insisted
Britain would not be 'panicked' into dropping bombs in Iraq.
He
had denied the lack of any attacks since last Thursday, when parliament
gave the green light for UK participation in the international military
effort, was of any particular significance.
Isis
has reportedly advanced to within just one mile of the Iraqi capital
Baghdad - killing hundreds of highly trained and expensively equipped
soldiers loyal to the country's Shia-led government in the process.
On a mission: RAF jets in Iraq, where they struck twice at what the government said were ISIS targets today
Caution: Philip Hammond had earlier
confirmed that the RAF had made another two sorties over ISIS-held
territory in the north of the country today without launching any
attacks against the powerful terror group
Militants: ISIS has reportedly advanced to within just one mile of the Iraqi capital Baghdad
Speaking
of the RAF's earlier lack of involvement in Western bombing raids
against ISIS militants in Iraq, Mr Hammond said the air force was simply
gathering intelligence to ensure civilians are not mistakenly hit.
'They
haven't yet attacked a target, because there is a process going on of
surveillance, gathering intelligence data, synthesising that,
establishing pattern of life,' he told the BBC's Daily Politics.
'When
we do release our weapons we have to be absolutely sure that they are
against Isil targets, that they are not going to kill innocent Sunni
Muslim civilians in areas that are occupied by Isil,' he added, using an
alternative acronym for the group, which rebranded as the Islamic State
in June.
'Otherwise we are having the opposite of the effect we are intending to have,' he went on to say.
Mr
Hammond's explanation comes less than a day after two civilian workers
were killed during a U.S. airstrike in ISIS-held territory in Syria,
when the grain silo in which they worked is believed to have been
mistaken for a jihadist base.
Britain
also agreed to send only six planes to carry out anti-ISIS operations
in Iraq - considerably fewer than the number of American aircraft
operating in the region.
Armed: A Tornado at RAF Akrotiri is loaded with a laser-guided bomb
Stand ready: A British tornado fighter jet crew member stands on his Tornado jet at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus
Front line: A Kurdish peshmerga
fighter stands guard facing ISIS militant positions - marked by the
group's black jihadist flag - near Rashad Bridge. The bridge connects
the Iraqi provinces of Salah al-Din and Kirkuk
Brave: Badly-equipped peshmerga
fighters are battling ISIS militants at close quarters - such as on
Rashad Bridge near Kirkuk. While the Kurdish troops control one side of
the bridge, an ISIS flag is flown at the other end
Referring
to the territory ISIS is understood to have gained since Britain joined
the international military effort against the terror group, Mr Hammond
said he did not believe ISIS militants could realistically seize control
of the Iraqi capital Baghdad anytime soon.
He
said he did not think it correct to suggest that the jihadists had
advanced to the outskirts of Baghdad - stressing that there was a
difference between the capital itself and Baghdad province.
'Baghdad is well defended and we are confident about that. We will do this properly,' he said.
'We
are not going to be panicked into just dropping bombs all over the
place because somebody's reporting a movement [of ISIS forces].
'We
have to make sure that we identify the enemy, we monitor their
movements so we know where they are, and then we attack precisely the
targets that we need to attack.'
Location: The militants are understood
to have had their advance halted by U.S. airstrikes on Sunday at
Ameriyat Al-Falluja - a small city about 18 miles south of Fallujah and
40 miles west of Baghdad. But the clashes did not force the bulk of the
fighters to retreat and many are said to have now advanced closer to
the capital
Approaching: Reports that ISIS
militants are now just one mile from Baghdad came from the Foundation
for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East - an organisation
supporting the work of Canon Andrew White
No protection: Canon Andrew White later updated his Facebook page questioning the ability of the Iraqi Army
Reports
that ISIS militants are now just one mile from Baghdad came from
the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East - an
organisation supporting the work of Canon Andrew White, vicar of the
city's St George's Church, the only Anglican church in Iraq.
In
a message posted on Facebook, the group said: 'The Islamic State are
now less than 2km away from entering Baghdad. They said it could never
happen and now it almost has.'
'President
Obama is saying he overestimated the ability of the Iraqi Army. It is
so clear they have no ability. A hard thing to say but it's true,' Canon
Andrew White later added.
Speaking
at lunchtime today, Mr Hammond also risked infuriating the French - who
have committed a greater number of fighter jets in the campaign against
ISIS - by dismissing the idea that the French Air Force had anything
like the same operational capabilities as the RAF.
'If
there is an air force in the world that can carry out this task while
minimising the risk of civilian casualties and the risk of collateral
damage, the RAF is the air force,' he said.
'There
is nobody who knows anything about air power who is suggesting that the
French air force is a more formidable force than the RAF.
'It
is not just about how many formations you have, it is about the
training of your people, it is about the capability of your equipment,
it is about the structure and the organisation.'
Speaking of the RAF's lack of
involvement in Western bombing raids against ISIS militants in Iraq, Mr
Hammond said the air force was simply gathering intelligence to ensure
civilians are mistakenly hit. Pictured is a building in civilian
building in Aleppo, Syria that was hit by a U.S. airstrike yesterday
Hit: Mr Hammond's explanation of the
RAF's caution comes less than a day after two civilians were killed
during a U.S. airstrike in ISIS-held territory in Syria. The grain silo
the men were working in is believed to have been mistaken for a jihadist
base. Pictured, a man is rescued from an Aleppo building also destroyed
by airstrikes
Buildings in the Al-Bab residential district of Aleppo, Syria, are left destroyed by the American-led airstrikes
Mr
Hammond said he did not 'particularly regret' admitting during an
interview earlier this month that Britain had 'no idea' where ISIS were
holding foreign hostages - including British aid worker Alan Henning and
photojournalist John Cantlie.
Mr
Henning was last seen being threatened by the ISIS murderer known as
'Jihadi John' during the sickening filmed beheading of another British
aid worker, David Haines.
Meanwhile
ISIS last night released the latest installment of a video series in
which Mr Cantlie is filmed being forced to read ISIS propaganda under
the guise of 'educating' Westerners about the conflict.
Speaking
of his decision to publicly admit to not knowing where inside ISIS-held
territory the hostages are being held, Mr Hammond said: 'I think they
probably would work out that we don't know or we would have done
something about it.'
However,
he also appeared to suggest that the position may have altered since
then - saying merely that it 'was the truth' at the time.
'I
made that comment over two weeks ago and situations can change... I
tend to think that the best answer to a question is the truth, and in
this case that was the truth,' he said.
BRITISH HOSTAGE JOHN CANTLIE FORCED TO CRITICISE OBAMA'S 'DISAPPOINTINGLY PREDICTABLE' STRATEGY ON ISIS AND WARNS WESTERN WEAPONS WILL END UP IN JIHADISTS' HANDS IN SHOCKING VIDEO
British
ISIS hostage John Cantlie has appeared in a new propaganda video on
behalf of the group, criticising President Barack Obama's
'disappointingly predictable' action against the militants.
Wearing
an orange Guantanamo-style jumpsuit and speaking directly to the
camera, Cantlie attacks the West's plans to use Iraqi troops and Syrian
rebels to fight ISIS.
In
forced speech, spoken as if reading from a script, Cantlie says
organising the Iraqi army will take months, and describes the Free
Syrian Army as 'undisciplined, corrupt and largely ineffective.'
A new video from ISIS has been posted
online showing British hostage John Cantlie criticising Obama's military
strategy for combating the terror group
He
also says that arming the Syrian rebels with Western weapons is
'largely useless', because many are sold on the black market and end up
in the hands of ISIS soldiers.
Speaking
about U.S.-led airstrikes, Cantlie goes on to say: 'Air power is good
at taking out specific targets but it is not much use a taking and
holding ground.
'For
that you need effective and disciplined troops and it is hard to see
how this hotch-potch army with a long history of underprofming is going
to be any form of credible infantry. '
At
the start of the footage, Cantlie, who was captured in 2012, describes
himself as a long-term prisoner of the Islamic State and says he has
been 'abandoned' by the British Government.
It is the third time Cantlie, a photo-journalist from Haslemere, Surrey, has appeared in an ISIS video.
At the start of last week, another video was posted online in which Cantlie said Obama was being sucked into 'Gulf War Three'.
He also attacked
Obama's address to the nation earlier this month, in which he said that
ISIS was 'not Islamic', saying the President had resorted to 'prideful
chest-banging'
Cantlie called arming the Free Syrian
Army (pictured) a 'largely pointless' move, claiming that many of the
weapons were sold on to the black market and then bought by Islamic
State
In
the latest video, Cantlie again criticises the decision to go to war,
saying that a new conflict will not make the West a safer place.
He says: 'If this reality was not changed by two arrogant wars before, why would a third change it now?'
In
the new film, Cantlie denies that ISIS has attacked 'innocents', saying
the group did not kill Christian and Yazidi women and children at Mosul
and Sinjar, calling it an 'undeniable fact'.
He
goes on to say that Islamic State do not kill Muslims, as they regard
Shias as 'worse than Americans', calling them 'apostates claiming to be
Muslims, while worshiping the dead.'
Finally,
he describes Obama's speech on the anniversary of 9/11 as 'prideful
chest banging' and 'disappointingly predictable', painting Americans as
the 'good guys' whose job it is to save the world 'single handedly.'
He
then signs off, saying ISIS looks forward to 'meeting Obama's
under-construction army', adding 'join me again, for the next
programme.'
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