RAF air strikes in Iraq and Syria: June 2018
Updated 24 March 2023
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Friday 1 June
A Typhoon flight employed a single Paveway IV to demolish a smaller command post in the Euphrates Valley.
Sunday 3 June
An RAF Reaper remotely piloted aircraft patrolled over eastern Syria. It provided surveillance support to a coalition air attack on a terrorist vehicle, then followed up with 2 attacks with its own Hellfire missiles against a further Daesh command post. Meanwhile, Typhoons used a Paveway IV to collapse the entrance to a terrorist tunnel.
Monday 4 June
A Reaper provided further close air support to the Syrian Democratic Forces in the Euphrates valley. An armed terrorist truck was reported to be to the north of Abu Kamal, and the Reaper’s crew were able to identify the vehicle, parked under cover in an attempt to conceal it, after a thorough search. A Hellfire missile destroyed the vehicle, with a number of subsequent secondary explosions as ammunition on the vehicle caught fire. The following day, another Reaper operated over eastern Syria, some ten miles east of Al Shadadi. A pair of Daesh terrorists were tracked on a motorcycle, and both were killed by a direct hit from a Hellfire.
Tuesday 5 June
A Reaper operated over eastern Syria, some ten miles east of Al Shadadi and a pair of Daesh terrorists were tracked on a motorcycle, and both were killed by a direct hit from a Hellfire.
Friday 8 June
Reaper operations east of Al Shadadi continued and a terrorist was tracked to a building where he joined forces with other extremists, allowing the building to be struck with a Hellfire. The Reaper’s crew then conducted a further successful attack with a Hellfire as Daesh fighters sought new positions after artillery fire destroyed their previous location.
Saturday 9 June
A Reaper used a Hellfire to destroyed a pick-up truck armed with a 23mm gun, which had been concealed under trees east of Al Shadadi. Another Hellfire missile then dealt with a mortar in the same area, with a number of secondary explosions following the attack on its position.
Sunday 10 June
A Reaper eliminated a light machine-gun position in eastern Syria.
Monday 11 June
Intelligence had allowed the identification of a small cluster of Daesh locations hidden in the hills south of Kirkuk, in northern Iraq. A flight of Typhoons were tasked with their destruction and they delivered a simultaneous attack with Paveway IVs against a tunnel and a cave, then a further attack to destroy a bunker dug into the hillside.
Tuesday 12 June
A Reaper was in action east of Al Shadadi; its crew spotted a mortar hidden in trees and destroyed it with a direct hit from a Hellfire, whilst a coalition aircraft then conducted a successful strike on the building nearby where the terrorist team, who had been operating the mortar, were seen to be hiding.
Monday 18 June
Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, patrolled over eastern Syria. Daesh terrorists had been observed hiding an armoured truck inside a building to the west of the border with Iraq, and the Tornado flight was duly able to destroy the building, and the vehicle therein, with a single Paveway IV guided bomb.
Wednesday 20 June
Intelligence indicated that Daesh had a stockpile of weapons hidden inside a cave in a remote area of the western Iraqi desert; a pair of Paveway-armed Typhoon FGR4s therefore attacked, as part of the continuing effort to eradicate any attempts by the terrorists to resume operations within the country.
Thursday 21 June
Coalition forces operating against Daesh in the south of Syria were fired on by hostile positions, not believed to be held by Daesh. Although the coalition forces decided to withdraw to attempt to de-escalate the situation, one particular position continued to fire on them. RAF Typhoons dropped a single Paveway IV on the position, which successfully removed the threat to our coalition partners.
Saturday 23 June
A Reaper crew, flying an armed reconnaissance patrol over eastern Syria, close to the Iraqi border, were tasked to investigate reports of a Daesh mortar being fired. Using the aircraft’s advanced surveillance sensor suite, they were able to identify terrorists carrying mortar ammunition into a treeline where the weapon was concealed. 1 Hellfire missile killed the terrorists, a second destroyed the mortar position itself.