Guidance

RAF air strikes in Iraq and Syria: January 2016

Updated 24 March 2023

1 and 2 January

An RAF Reaper supported coalition air strikes in Ramadi, and on 2 January, another Reaper used a Hellfire missile to destroy a mortar position near Fallujah.

3 January

A busy day for RAF aircraft: Typhoons delivered 4 successful attacks in Ramadi against terrorist positions, including a mortar team. A second Typhoon mission over Ramadi conducted no less than 6 attacks, accounting for 5 machine-guns and a sniper position. Near Haditha, Tornados destroyed a truck-bomb, while a Reaper used Hellfires against 2 armed pick-up trucks and a group of terrorist fighters. Over northern Iraq, 2 more flights of Tornado GR4s successfully attacked a total of 2 mortar and 4 machine-gun positions.

Daesh terrorists have suffered further losses following intensive Royal Air Force strikes as part of the coalition’s air campaign over Iraq and Syria.

4 January

A pair of RAF Typhoon FGR4s operated over northern Iraq and used Paveway IV precision guided bombs to attack 8 terrorist mortar and rocket positions. Meanwhile, Tornado GR4s provided close air support to the Iraqi army as they continue their operations to eliminate the remaining terrorist fighters in and around Ramadi.

When an Iraqi unit came under rocket-propelled grenade and mortar fire from several Daesh-held buildings, the GR4s conducted a very accurate attack on all 4 buildings using Paveway IVs. The Tornados were tasked to deal with a group of terrorists who were preparing for a counter-attack. Despite this being a difficult target for most weapons, the GR4s were able to score a direct hit with a Brimstone missile.

An RAF Reaper was also patrolling over Ramadi it provided surveillance support for 3 air strikes by coalition fast jets, and also conducted 2 attacks using its own weapons, employing a GBU-12 laser guided bomb against a Daesh machine-gun team, and destroyed 2 terrorist trucks with a single Hellfire missile. On Monday evening, a Tornado patrol, supported as ever by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, used a Paveway IV to strike a Daesh-held building near Mosul.

5 January

RAF Typhoon patrols over Ramadi continued, they used Paveways to destroy 2 terrorist machine-gun positions, as well as an anti-aircraft gun that had opened fire on an Iraqi Air Force helicopter. Near Haditha, Reapers provided close air support to Iraqi security forces as Daesh attempted to mount an attack on them Hellfire missiles and a GBU-12 were used against 2 armed pick-up trucks, 2 machine-gun teams and groups of terrorist fighters. In the area around Mosul, Tornado GR4s hit 2 Daesh rocket teams.

6 January

Following their loss of control of key areas in Ramadi, Daesh extremists attempted to mount attacks against Iraqi ground forces near Haditha. Coalition aircraft provided extensive close air support to Iraqi troops, and a pair of RAF Tornado GR4s used 2 Paveway IV bombs in attacks on with an Iraqi terrorists who were engaged in close combat unit.

The Typhoons then flew south to Ramadi, where operations continued as the Iraqis sought to eliminate those Daesh positions that remain in the city. Working closely with other coalition aircraft, the Typhoons conducted 4 Paveway attacks, destroying 2 machine-gun positions and 2 armoured personnel carriers.

In northern Iraq, Tornado GR4s supported Kurdish forces; south of Sinjar, a Paveway IV destroyed a terrorist team manning rocket launchers, while near Mosul, 3 fighting positions and 3 accommodation blocks used by Daesh were destroyed by 6 Paveways. Later in the day, Typhoons were once again over Ramadi, where they struck 2 terrorist positions, including a heavy machine-gun team that was firing on Iraqi troops.

7 January

Operations over Ramadi continued with Typhoons delivering 6 successful Paveway IV attacks on Daesh positions, including two more machine-gun teams. In the north, the Tornados were likewise again patrolling over Mosul and Kisik, and these missions used Paveways against a group of extremists and a rocket position.

8 January

Tornado GR4s conducted 2 more Paveway attacks near Mosul, striking rocket and machine-gun teams.

10 January

The focus turned to a series of targets inside Syria. Near Raqqa, a pair of Tornados bombed a pair of Daesh-held buildings, one of which was a confirmed command and control centre, and used a Brimstone missile to destroy a supply truck.

A second pair of GR4s dropped 4 Paveway IVs on a tunnel complex, again near Raqqa, whilst a Reaper engaged a terrorist position with a Hellfire missile. During the evening, a further Tornado flight and a Reaper used a combination of Brimstone and Hellfire missiles to attack a number of mobile cranes brought in by Daesh to attempt to repair the severe damage inflicted by previous RAF and coalition air strikes on the Omar oil field.

11 January

A milestone was passed on Monday morning when an RAF Reaper flew the 1,000th sortie by the type since they were committed to operations against Daesh in October 2014.

Iraqi ground forces have made repeated successful advances against the Daesh terrorist network, with recent major successes at Sinjar and Ramadi. Mosul remains the largest Iraqi town held by the terrorists, and they have concentrated much of their command and control functions within the city.

Patient intelligence assessment allowed a walled compound in the northern part of Mosul to be identified as a major headquarters of the Daesh security organisation, which is responsible for terrorising the civilian population, and indeed demoralised elements of their own membership, into compliance, and is thus associated with many of the terrorists’ worst atrocities inside Syria and Iraq. Very careful planning allowed 3 key targets within the compound to be identified, and an attack carefully planned to minimise any risks to civilians in Mosul.

11 January

RAF aircraft have also continued very active air operations against Daesh targets inside Syria. A Reaper identified a terrorist check point, one of the methods used by Daesh to attempt to impose their will on the civilian population, and successfully attacked it using a Hellfire missile.

12 January

Reapers maintained surveillance over the oilfields in eastern Syria which have been targeted by coalition air strikes, including by the RAF, to deny Daesh the ability to use the oil to finance their operations. The Reapers identified a mechanical excavator which was being used to attempt repairs, and an oil pump which had evidently been brought back on line, and destroyed both with Hellfire missiles.

In north-eastern Syria, Tornado GR4s meanwhile patrolled in the area of Al Hasakah, where they used Paveway IVs to strike 2 Daesh-held strongpoints. While other coalition aircraft conducted a series of strikes on a range of other key Daesh targets within Mosul, Typhoon FGR4s from RAF Akrotiri, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, used Paveway IV guided bombs to attack the security headquarters compound, and initial analysis indicates that the attack was a success.

13 January

Typhoon FRG4s provided Iraqi ground forces with close air support as they continue to eliminate terrorist positions in and around Ramadi and conducted 2 successful attacks with Paveway IV guided bombs on Daesh machine-gun teams. Further north, south-west of Sinjar, Tornado GR4s supported operations by the Kurdish peshmerga and used a Paveway to destroy a machine-gun position which had opened fire on the troops.

14 January

Typhoons were again in action over Ramadi, where they delivered three Paveway IV attacks on a group of Daesh fighters preparing for an assault, a firing position and a mortar team. Tornados patrolled east of Mosul, where they used a pair of Paveways to attack a mortar position and an armed pick-up truck. Typhoons operated in the same area that night, and successfully bombed 3 buildings in a terrorist-held compound.

15 January

Tornado GR4s struck a Daesh barracks near Raqqa, with 2 Paveway IVs, also destroying 1 of their vehicles parked close by.

17 January

GR4s conducted 2 successful attacks with Brimstone missiles, destroying a vehicle near Tabbaqah, west of Raqqa, in Syria and a terrorist supply truck south of Sinjar in Iraq.

18 January

Typhoons operated over northern Iraq, working in close cooperation with Kurdish forces. North-west of Mosul, our aircraft identified 2 groups of armed terrorists and struck both with Paveway IV guided bombs. The Typhoons then flew west to the area south of Sinjar, the scene of a significant Kurdish victory in November, where they employed a third Paveway to destroy a concealed Daesh vehicle.

19 January

Typhoons and a Reaper patrolling over Ramadi to assist the Iraqi ground forces as they continue to clear the city of Daesh positions. The Typhoons conducted successful Paveway attacks on a terrorist mortar team and a group of Daesh armed with rocket-propelled grenades. The Reaper used its Hellfire missiles to destroy a group of terrorist vehicles, including a fuel tanker, a supply truck and a mechanical excavator used for constructing defensive positions. Meanwhile, a second Reaper was operating near Haditha, where it attacked a large truck-bomb, terrorist fighters and a supporting vehicle with 3 Hellfires.

20 January

Typhoon FGR4s and Tornado GR4s provided close air support to Iraqi ground forces in and near Ramadi. Four successful attacks were conducted using Paveway IV guided bombs, striking 2 Daesh-held buildings, a group of extremists, and an armoured personnel carrier which was being converted into a large truck-bomb. The latter attack also detonated the stockpile of explosives close by. A Typhoon mission also provided support to Iraqi troops near Fallujah, hitting a terrorist mortar position with a Paveway IV.

21 January

A pair of Typhoons patrolling Ramadi and Haditha, delivered 4 Paveway attacks on 3 Daesh strongpoints and a further explosives stockpile. Further north, a Tornado flight used a pair of Paveway IVs to destroy a terrorist fighting position and a mortar team near Qayyarah.

22 January

Typhoons worked closely with another coalition aircraft to target a group of terrorists concealed beneath trees, scoring a direct hit with a Paveway.

24 January

A Typhoon mission operating near Ramadi, identified an anti-aircraft gun and ammunition store and attacked with 2 Paveways which destroyed both targets. The Typhoons then switched their focus to a network of Daesh trenches located near Habbaniyah, where they were joined by a pair of Tornados. The 2 RAF aircraft conducted 6 attacks with Paveways on the trench positions and a bunker.

Tornado GR4s also patrolled south-east of Mosul, where they struck 3 terrorist-held buildings. A further Typhoon mission dropped 6 Paveways on a terrorist command compound north-west of Ramadi. Meanwhile in Syria, Tornados used Brimstone missiles to successfully attack 3 mobile cranes, being used by Daesh to repair damage from coalition air strikes.

RAF Tornado attacks on Daesh cranes in Syria using Brimstone missiles 24 January 2016

25 January

A further 2 cranes destroyed by Brimstones, south-west of Raqqa, whilst a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft hit a Daesh position with a Hellfire missile, just on the Syrian side of the border. In northern Iraq, Tornado GR4s bombed a mortar position and a sniper team which had opened fire on Kurdish forces advancing south of Sinjar.

26 January

In the west of Iraq, a pair of GR4s conducted three attacks with Paveway IV guided bombs against a weapons stockpile, a terrorist fighting position, and a truck armed with an anti-aircraft gun. Further north, GR4s provided close air support to Kurdish troops near Kirkuk; a Paveway was used to strike a Daesh-held building. The GR4s then attacked a group of terrorists hidden inside a pair of caves overlooking the Little Zab River. The Tornados launched a pair of Brimstone missiles, which scored direct hits on both of the cave entrances. Meanwhile in Syria, Tornados used 6 Brimstones to attack mobile cranes south-west of Raqqa, highly valued by Daesh when attempting to repair damage inflicted by air strikes.

27 January

Typhoon FGR4s patrolled east of Ramadi and used a Paveway to destroy a terrorist armoured personnel carrier, then, north of Habbaniyah, worked with another coalition aircraft to deliver a successful Paveway attack against a group of terrorists engaged in combat with Iraqi troops. In northern Iraq, between Qayyarah and Mosul, a Tornado mission destroyed a Daesh vehicle with a Paveway IV.

28 January

Typhoons in action north of Habbaniyah conducted 4 successful attacks on Daesh positions, including a heavy machine-gun team. In north-western Iraq, Tornados bombed both a mortar and a heavy machine-gun position, while other Tornados and a Reaper operated east of Ramadi; the GR4s destroyed an armed vehicle, parked under cover, with a Brimstone, and the Reaper used a Hellfire missile to destroy an armoured truck, extensive secondary explosions suggest that it had been converted into a large truck bomb.

29 January

Tornado GR4 and Typhoon FGR4s from RAF Akrotiri, supported by a Voyager tanker, flew armed reconnaissance missions over north-east Syria and northern Iraq. Near Mosul, the Typhoons conducted 2 attacks with Paveway IV precision guided bombs, striking a group of terrorists and a weapons store. Across the border in Syria, 2 pairs of Tornados worked in close co-operation with an RAF Reaper to target a group of Daesh defensive positions and a large tunnel complex with several entrances. The Tornados dropped 8 Paveways on the defensive positions and 2 tunnel entrances, while the Reaper conducted an attack on a third tunnel with its own GBU-12 guided bomb.

30 January

In the area of Ramadi, Reapers conducted 2 successful attacks with Hellfire missiles against an armoured truck and a mechanical excavator, while a patrol along the border with Syria destroyed another engineering vehicle, used to build defences and attempt repairs to damage from coalition air strikes, near Al Qaim.

31 January

A Tornado GR4 flight provided support to the Iraqi army in and around Ramadi: our aircraft used a Brimstone missile to destroy a large truck-bomb, and 3 Paveways to destroy terrorist positions, including a heavy machine-gun team which had been previously attacking the Iraqi army. In northern Iraq, Typhoons conducted 2 Paveway attacks on a group of terrorists caught in the open near Mosul, and, slightly further south, a Daesh-held building. A pair of Typhoons also patrolled over eastern Syria, where they employed Paveways to destroy 2 large clusters of defensive positions.