Guidance

RAF air strikes in Iraq and Syria: July 2017

Updated 16 December 2024

Saturday 1 July

A Reaper remotely piloted aircraft patrolled over Raqqa. A mortar was reported firing on the SDF, and the Reaper’s crew spotted its muzzle flashes from a position concealed beneath a tree. A Hellfire missile destroyed the target. Typhoons were also active over the city, where they used a Paveway IV to silence a heavy machine gun which was holding up an SDF advance. In northern Iraq, 2 Tornados assisted the Iraqi troops clearing remaining pockets of Daesh resistance in west Mosul. Paveway IVs were used to destroy 2 strongpoints from which the Daesh fighters were directing fire. The Tornados then responded to reports of a heavy machine gun team and a group of suicide bombers preparing to attack the Iraqis, a third position was duly destroyed with a Paveway IV.

Sunday 2 July

Mixed pairs of Tornados and Typhoons operated over both Mosul and Raqqa. In Mosul, the Iraqi ground forces encountered 3 groups of snipers; all 3 positions, plus another Daesh held building, were successfully struck with Paveways. In similar fashion, Paveway IVs were used against 2 terrorist firing points in Raqqa.

Monday 3 July

Two Royal Air Force Reaper remotely piloted aircraft conducted armed reconnaissance over Raqqa. One assisted Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who had come under attack from a heavy machine gun on the top floor of a building. A Hellfire missile through the building’s roof silenced the terrorist fire. The second Reaper used 2 Hellfires in a successful attack on a Daesh headquarters for foreign fighters. A mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair were also active over the city. The SDF, advancing into the centre of Raqqa, encountered a strongly defended building. Our aircraft demolished it with a single Paveway IV guided bomb. Two flights of Tornados operated over northern Iraq the same day. One flight used 3 Paveway IVs to destroy a group of 3 workshops producing truck bombs near Hawijah. The second flight supported Iraqi troops in the Old City of Mosul, and conducted strikes with Paveways and Brimstone missiles on 7 Daesh positions, including 6 machine gun teams.

Wednesday 5 July

Typhoons continued to support the Iraqi troops in west Mosul. Exceptionally careful coordination was needed given the very short distances between the Iraqi forces and the Daesh positions, but the 2 Typhoons were able to destroy 7 strongpoints, including 2 with medium machine guns, each struck by a Paveway IV. Tornados kept watch over the latest SDF advances in Raqqa, and used a Paveway IV to deal with a sniper team.

Thursday 6 July

Two Royal Air Force Typhoons, armed with Paveway IV bombs, operated over Raqqa. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) encountered a large building on the southern edge of the city, close to the bank of the Euphrates, which was heavily defended by Daesh extremists. Two Paveways struck the building and brought an end to the terrorists’ activity. A mixed pair of a Typhoon and a Tornado were also active over Raqqa, and these aircraft bombed a sniper position which had been firing persistently at the SDF. A second mixed Tornado/Typhoon pair provided similar support to the Iraqi forces clearing the Old City in Mosul. Attacks with Brimstone missiles dealt with 3 Daesh positions, whilst a Paveway IV was used to destroy a medium machine gun team.

Friday 7 July

Tornados flew further missions over Mosul, delivering 2 Paveway IV attacks which eliminated a sniper team and another group of terrorists firing on Iraqi troops. Further south in Iraq, a Daesh held building had been identified in the countryside some 25 miles north west of Bayji, with an armed truck hidden inside. Tornados demolished the building with a direct hit from a Paveway IV. Two more such weapons were used in attacks by Typhoons on a pair of defensive positions which the SDF had come up against in Raqqa.

Saturday 8 July

Typhoons conducted attacks with 4 Paveway IVs, eliminating a light machine-gun position and 3 other terrorist strongpoints. Tornados meanwhile continued to support the SDF in Raqqa, striking a Daesh position there.

Sunday 9 July

Typhoons hit a further target in Raqqa, whilst 2 mixed pairs of Tornados and Typhoons assisted the Iraqis as they fought at very close quarters in Mosul; our aircraft dealt with 2 snipers and 2 Daesh held buildings. Prime Minister Abadi visited the city to mark its liberation.

Wednesday 12 July

A mixed Tornado and Typhoon provided support, and delivered successful attacks with Paveway IV guided bombs on 3 buildings from which terrorists had been attempting to prolong the fight. Over Raqqa, a second mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair flew overwatch as the Syrian Democratic Forces continued their advance through the city; our aircraft used Paveway IVs to engage 3 Daesh positions which opened fire on the SDF, and successfully silenced each threat in turn.

Thursday 13 July

Royal Air Force continued to support operations by the Iraqi security forces to eradicate any remaining Daesh fighters in Mosul. Two Tornados used a Paveway IV guided bomb to destroy a building occupied by extremists on the west bank of the Tigris, in the Old City of Mosul.

Friday 14 July

With Mosul largely liberated, the major focus for RAF missions has been to assist the Syrian Democratic Forces fighting in Raqqa. Two Typhoons used a Paveway IV to destroy the entrance to a tunnel dug beneath an area in the west of the city. The following day, Tornados and Typhoons utilised 11 Paveway IV bombs against mortar positions in Raqqa, whilst a pair of Tornados used a Brimstone missile against a sniper holding out in western Mosul.

Sunday 16 July

In the course of surveillance over Raqqa, a Reaper delivered a Hellfire missile attack which killed a small group of terrorists armed with rocket propelled grenades, who had been firing on the Syrian Democratic Forces from a rooftop. Tornados and Typhoons were also very active over the city, and used a Brimstone missile to attack one terrorist firing point, and Paveway IVs to deal with 3 sniper teams and 2 other positions defended by Daesh extremists.

Wednesday 19 July

In northern Iraq, intelligence had identified a warehouse near Hawijah in which large quantities of homemade explosives were being stored by Daesh. A flight of RAF Tornados attacked the building with 2 Paveway IV guided bombs, and demolished it. A mixed pair of one Tornado and one Typhoon meanwhile provided close air support to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting to clear the terrorists from Raqqa. A coalition surveillance aircraft identified a Daesh defensive position, and our aircraft conducted a successful attack with a Brimstone missile. A terrorist command post was also identified within the city, and this was struck with 2 Paveway IVs.

Thursday 20 July

Operations over Raqqa continued, when a Typhoon mission assisted SDF engaged in combat with a group of extremists firing from a building; this was hit with a single Paveway IV which eliminated the threat to the SDF. In northern Iraq, coalition surveillance aircraft had located a number of terrorists on a wooded island in the Tigris, several miles south of Qayyarah, along with their transport, a boat and 2 vehicles, on the riverbanks. Two Tornados bombed the terrorists on the island with a pair of Paveway IVs, whilst a mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair destroyed the boat and vehicles with Brimstone missiles.

Friday 21 July

A pair of Tornados bombed the top of a grain silo in Raqqa, where a group of Daesh were stationed in a combined observation and sniper post. In western Iraq, a mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair used a Brimstone missile to eliminate an anti-aircraft machine gun that was concealed under cover, south east of Rawah. Our aircraft then flew north east to an area south of Qayyarah, where a coalition surveillance aircraft was keeping watch on a truck armed with a recoilless anti-tank gun. This was destroyed using a Brimstone.

Saturday 22 July

A Tornado mission used a single Paveway IV to destroy an engineering vehicle which terrorists had attempted to conceal some miles north of Tall Afar. On Sunday and Monday, the RAF operations focused on supporting the SDF in Raqqa.

Sunday 23 July

Three flights of Tornados and Typhoons conducted missions over the city, in which they delivered successful attacks on 6 Daesh positions, using Paveways IV bombs and Brimstone missiles.

Monday 24 July

Three more Paveway IVs were dropped, targeting a further 3 terrorist firing points.

Wednesday 26 July

A Reaper destroyed a terrorist truck in eastern Syria.

Thursday 27 July

A Tornado and Typhoon pair attacked mortar and sniper positions in Raqqa.

Friday 28 July

A Tornado and Typhoon pair struck a Daesh position in Raqqa.

Sunday 30 July

A Tornado and Typhoon pair eliminated 2 terrorist snipers in Raqqa.