Guidance

RAF air strikes in Iraq and Syria: June 2017

Updated 16 December 2024

Friday 2 June

A mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair used a Brimstone to destroy an armoured truck moving along a main road on the outskirts of Raqqa. Two other flights operated over Mosul, where attacks were delivered in very close support to the Iraqi forces, hitting 8 Daesh positions with a mix of Brimstones and Paveway IVs. The targets included 3 machine gun teams and 3 groups of terrorists armed with rocket-propelled grenades. In addition, a truck bomb, concealed close to 1 of the positions, was also fortuitously detonated by 1 of the attacks.

Saturday 3 June

A Reaper, operating south of Al Qaim in western Iraq, observed a group of dismounted terrorists, with an armed truck close by. One Hellfire missile killed several of the terrorists, a second destroyed the vehicle with a direct hit. West of Kirkuk, a pair of Tornados used a Paveway IV to destroy a Daesh strongpoint, whilst 2 mixed pairs of Tornados and Typhoons delivered 5 attacks in Mosul with 4 Brimstones and a Paveway against a truck bomb, 3 sniper teams and a group with rocket-propelled grenades.

Sunday 4 June

A further mixed pair conducted 3 further attacks in Mosul, using a Brimstone to deal with a sniper, and 2 Paveway IVs against a pair of Daesh held buildings from which fire was being directed at Iraqi troops.

Monday 5 June

Two Typhoons, supporting Syrian Democratic Forces close to Raqqa, used a Paveway IV to strike a Daesh held building in the east of the city itself. Tornados meanwhile continued operations over Mosul, and employed a pair of Brimstone missiles to deliver pinpoint attacks on 2 firing positions located in a large multi-storey building, where the terrorists had stationed a recoilless anti-tank gun and a machine gun.

Wednesday 7 June

A Reaper remotely piloted aircraft flew an armed reconnaissance patrol over northern Raqqa. It observed 2 extremists burying booby traps along routes into the city. Hellfire missiles were deployed, killing both. Some 45 miles south-west of Raqqa, a mixed pair of Tornado and Typhoon fast jets used a Brimstone missile to hit 1 Daesh held building. A Paveway IV guided bomb left a second target on fire.

Friday 9 June

Tornados struck a Daesh position in eastern Raqqa.

Saturday 10 June

A Reaper intervened in a fire fight in western Raqqa between the SDF and a group of Daesh fighters. The Reaper hit the latter with a very effective Hellfire attack. The same day, Paveway armed Typhoons struck 2 entrances to a network of tunnels built beneath a factory in the north-east of the city.

Sunday 11 June

A Tornado flight patrolled the Mosul area and conducted 2 attacks. During the first, a Paveway IV was used against a mortar position some 20 miles west of the city. A Brimstone was then used against a Daesh firing point in western Mosul, close to the riverbank. A second Tornado flight, and 2 pairs of Typhoons, operated the same day over Raqqa. Paveway IVs accounted for 4 sniper positions and a Daesh held building, while a simultaneous attack with 2 Brimstones eliminated 2 firing points in a building on the western edge of the city.

Monday 12 June

Royal Air Force Tornados patrolled over west Mosul. Despite Iraqi forces being exceptionally close to a target, a Tornado was able to use a single Paveway IV guided bomb to destroy a Daesh strongpoint. Our aircraft then headed south to an area in the countryside near the small town of Karwi. A truck bomb workshop had been identified in an isolated building, with 3 of its deadly products parked some distance away. The 3 truck bombs were dealt with first. An attack with a pair of Brimstone missiles scored direct hits on 2 of the vehicles, and the secondary explosions from 1 of these then set off the third truck bomb. A Paveway IV was then used to demolish the workshop.

Wednesday 14 June

A mixed pair of a Tornado and a Typhoon provided further assistance to the Iraqi forces in west Mosul, striking 2 terrorist held buildings with Paveway IVs. Before returning to base at RAF Akrotiri, the aircraft struck a third Daesh building, some 24 miles west of Kirkuk.

Thursday 15 June

Reaper remotely piloted aircraft conducted armed reconnaissance in eastern Syria, some 35 miles north-east of Dayr az Zawr, and used a Hellfire missile to destroy a terrorist truck. Two Typhoons also struck 3 Daesh positions in Raqqa in support of the offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Elsewhere, 2 mixed pairs of Tornados and Typhoons operated over northern Iraq. A Daesh mortar was engaged east of Tal Afar, while 6 positions in Mosul, including machine gun and sniper teams, were struck using a mixture of Paveway IVs and Brimstones.

Friday 16 June

Typhoons were again in action over Raqqa, when they bombed 2 further Daesh positions. Typhoons and Tornados, flying as mixed pairs, employed 1 Brimstone missile and 4 Paveway IVs to eliminate 2 machine gun teams and 3 other Daesh strongpoints.

Saturday 17 June

Tornados and Typhoons suppressed a Daesh position in Raqqa, and struck 6 more positions in Mosul, again using a Brimstone and Paveway IV mix to deal with snipers and a machine gun team.

Sunday 18 June

A Reaper patrolled over Raqqa. Its crew successfully spotted a Daesh mortar team and provided targeting assistance to a coalition air strike against them. The Reaper’s crew then used Hellfire missiles to destroy a car bomb and a second mortar team who were spotted in the act of firing at the SDF. The same day, Tornados and Typhoons were very active over Mosul. A Brimstone was used to target a group of terrorists engaged in a close quarters firefight with Iraqi troops, while Paveways accounted for 9 more targets, including 2 machine gun teams, multiple snipers, and extremists armed with rocket-propelled grenades.

Monday 19 June

Flights of Royal Air Force Tornados and Typhoons operated over northern Iraq in support of the Iraqi security forces. Our aircraft conducted attacks in Mosul with Paveway IV guided bombs against 6 Daesh positions which the Iraqi forces had encountered, including a group of snipers and 4 machine gun teams. Thirty miles west of Kirkuk, a Daesh weapons stockpile was also destroyed by a Paveway IV.

Wednesday 21 June

A pair of Typhoons assisted Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Raqqa. Two buildings held by extremist fighters were hit with Paveway IVs. In Mosul, a Tornado flight used a Brimstone missile to destroy safely a car bomb spotted by the Iraqi ground forces. The Tornado flight then used a Paveway IV to eliminate a medium machine gun team. A mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair were also active that day over the city. A Brimstone attack was directed at a mortar position, while Paveways were used against 3 Daesh strongpoints, including 2 housing machine guns.

Thursday 22 June

Tornados and Typhoons conducted attacks with Paveway IVs against 6 Daesh targets in western Mosul, with some strikes being called in by Iraqi forces positioned extremely close to the terrorist locations. Four machine gun teams were amongst the threats successfully dealt with by our aircraft. The next day, a mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair used 2 Paveway IVs to target successfully a large group of Daesh fighters operating with a truck bomb and an armoured personnel carrier in Raqqa, while in Mosul a Tornado flight conducted 3 precision attacks with Brimstone missiles on sniper positions.

Saturday 24 June

In similar fashion, a pair of Paveway IV armed Tornados eliminated a terrorist sniper team in Raqqa.

Sunday 25 June

Operations against groups of Daesh extremists outside of Raqqa and Mosul have also been maintained. Tornados attacked a headquarters and mortar position in eastern Syria, some 55 miles north-east of Dayr az Zawr.

Monday 26 June

Careful intelligence analysis allowed a building on the outskirts of Al Mayadin, in eastern Syria, to be identified as a truck bomb workshop. A flight of Royal Air Force Tornados struck the target, scoring a direct hit with a Paveway IV guided bomb which left the building ablaze. Two mixed pairs of Tornados and Typhoons, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, meanwhile provided close air support to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pushing into Raqqa and to the Iraqi troops clearing remaining Daesh positions in west Mosul. A Brimstone missile accounted for a sniper team in Raqqa, and a Paveway similarly dealt with snipers in Mosul.

Tuesday 27 June

Our aircraft conducted invaluable reconnaissance operations during.

Wednesday 28 June

Two Tornado flights operated over Raqqa. At the north-western end of the city, at least 1 suicide bomber was known to be waiting inside a Daesh held building, waiting for an opportunity to attack the SDF as they closed in. The building and the terrorists inside were struck with a Paveway IV. A second such weapon demolished a building in the east, from where heavy fire had been directed at the SDF. This successful strike allowed the SDF to resume their advance.

Thursday 29 June

A flight of Typhoons used a Paveway IV to silence a sniper team which had been firing on the SDF in eastern Raqqa. The same day, a pair of Tornados conducted a simultaneous Paveway attack on a group of 3 buildings, all occupied by Daesh extremists, in the south-east of the city. Another Tornado pair meanwhile supported Iraqi troops clearing remaining Daesh positions in the Old City in west Mosul. Our aircraft used Paveway IVs to deliver 2 successful attacks on strongpoints, using great precision with their munitions, given the extreme proximity of the Iraqi troops to the Daesh firing points.

Friday 30 June

Tornados and Typhoons destroyed a truck bomb and a Daesh held building in Raqqa.