Guidance

RAF air strikes in Iraq and Syria: May 2016

Updated 31 July 2024

2 May

Typhoons provided further support to the Iraqi forces near Fallujah, striking a machine-gun team in a bunker and a 23 millimetre anti-aircraft gun. In northern Iraq, Tornados used 2 Paveways to destroy a Daesh-held building and a nearby weapons store north of Mosul, then flew south to the Qayyarah region where Iraqi forces were engaged in a firefight with a group of terrorists manning a fortified position. Despite the close proximity of the friendly forces, very precise strikes with 2 Paveways and 2 Brimstones helped destroy the Daesh group.

3 May

An RAF Reaper remotely piloted aircraft conducting reconnaissance over the village of Batnay, north of Mosul. A truck-bomb was identified inside a compound and struck using a Hellfire missile, resulting in a very large explosion. The Reaper then provided targeting support to a successful strike by coalition fast jets against a group of Daesh fighters and their vehicle. Two Tornados were also tasked to operate over Batnay, and they successfully destroyed a further Daesh vehicle with a direct hit from a Brimstone. In western Iraq, Typhoons provided further close air support to Iraqi forces near Fallujah, striking a mortar team and their vehicle hidden under trees south of the city.

4 May

A Reaper identified a truck-bomb, concealed underneath a tarpaulin, next to a road in western Iraq. The crew checked that there were no civilians or friendly forces at immediate risk and used a Hellfire missile to score a direct hit on the vehicle, detonating the explosives safely. South of Fallujah, a pair of Typhoon FGR4s used a Paveway IV guided bomb to destroy a building where a group of extremists, armed with a heavy calibre automatic weapon. In the same area, a Tornado GR4 flight dropped 4 Paveways on a weapons stockpile, 2 Daesh-held buildings, and a tunnel entrance. RAF aircraft also supported Kurdish forces in the north of the country, where another Tornado flight bombed a group of Daesh fighters and a mortar team, the latter positioned in a small copse of trees.

5 May

Tornado missions in support of Iraqi and Kurdish operations demolished a terrorist position north-east of Mosul on around Mosul and Fallujah, while Typhoons bombed a tunnel and a mortar south-west of Fallujah.

6 May

Daesh terrorists were spotted unloading rockets and mortar projectiles from a number of small boats and a barge on the Euphrates in Anbar province. A Tornado reconnaissance patrol, armed with Brimstone missiles, was first on the scene and prevented the initial load of weapons from being driven away, hitting the terrorists’ truck with a Brimstone while they were still loading it. A Paveway-armed flight of Typhoons then arrived and used its bombs to destroy the weapons on the shore, and sink the barge. The same Typhoon flight also attacked a mortar position south-west of Fallujah. A 2nd Tornado flight destroyed 2 heavy machine-gun positions on the north bank of the Euphrates, downstream from the recently liberated town of Hit. In northern Iraq, Typhoons struck another mortar, north-west of Mosul.

8 May

Typhoons were active south of Fallujah, where a rocket launcher was identified in the open with 3 known caches of ammunition stored nearby. All 4 targets were struck with Paveway IV guided bombs and successfully destroyed.

9 May

RAF Typhoon FGR4s, armed with Paveway IV guided bombs, conducted successful attacks against a group of Daesh extremists hiding in a tunnel network dug into a riverbank north-west of Kirkuk and against 2 rocket launcher positions north of Mosul.

Other Typhoons, and Tornado GR4s provided close air support to the Iraqi troops operating in the Euphrates valley. The Typhoons struck a mortar position north of the Al Asad airbase, while the Tornados destroyed a terrorist command post situated nearby in a riverside building in the midst of a palm grove.

10 May

RAF Sentry airborne command and control platforms have also been playing their part in the overall direction of the air campaign against Daesh. A typical Sentry mission saw it controlling some 40 coalition aircraft operating over Syria and Iraq, including several RAF reconnaissance missions.

11 May

Tornados again assisted Iraqi ground forces in the Euphrates valley, when they came up against a heavily defended Daesh building, which was demolished with a Paveway.

12 May

A Typhoon flight used 3 Paveways to hit Daesh positions ahead of a Kurdish offensive to the south-west of Kirkuk.

13 May

Two RAF Reapers provided close air support to the peshmerga as they advanced, conducting a total of 4 attacks with 3 Hellfires and a GBU-12 guided bomb. They destroyed mortar teams and a Daesh supply truck, as well as providing surveillance support to a coalition air strike which destroyed a terrorist strongpoint. Tornados were meanwhile again assisting Iraqi ground forces in the Euphrates valley, and destroyed 2 Daesh-held buildings on the northern bank of the river.

15 May

A pair of Typhoons conducted successful simultaneous attacks north-west of Fallujah, which destroyed a bunker and an engineering vehicle.

16 May

RAF support to Iraqi ground forces along the Euphrates continued when Tornados used a Paveway bomb to destroy a small Daesh bunker containing ammunition supplies.

17 May

Tornados operated north of Mosul and conducted a successful attack with Paveways on a group of 3 buildings near Bashiqah, which housed weapon stockpiles. The same day, a Typhoon flight used a pair of Paveways to destroy 2 machine-gun positions which Daesh were attempting to establish on the northern bank of the Euphrates near Hit following their recent defeat by the Iraqis in the town.

18 May: Flights of Typhoons and Tornados both participated in a series of attacks on Daesh installations north of Tal Afar. The Typhoons employed 8 Paveways to attack a cluster of buildings used by the terrorists for command and control, accommodation, and vehicle and weapon storage. The Tornados delivered 4 Paveways to destroy a further command post and 3 ammunition stockpiles.

19 May

Tornados from RAF Akrotiri patrolled the Mosul area. North of the city, they used a Paveway IV guided bomb to destroy a tunnel in which a group of Daesh extremists were based, then moved to the east of Mosul where 15 rocket launchers had been stored by the terrorists. Three Paveway IVs were used against ammunition stockpiles, before 3 Brimstone missiles were used to destroy the rocket launchers. The small warhead and high precision of the Brimstones avoided any structural damage being caused to the surrounding buildings.

Typhoons were also active over northern Iraq that day, operating north of Tall Afar where they employed a pair of Paveways to demolish a large weapons store, then 2 more Paveways against 2 other Daesh-held buildings.

20 May

Intelligence analysis pinpointed 2 Daesh headquarters in north-west Syria, located 10 and 25 miles respectively north of Aleppo near the fighting along the Mar’a Line. A pair of Tornado GR4s were tasked with their destruction. One of the command posts was in a very solidly constructed building, this was targeted with 2 Enhanced Paveway II 1000lb bombs. A pair of 500lb Paveway IVs were used against the 2nd headquarters. Both targets were destroyed by direct hits.

With the Iraqi ground forces preparing to launch their offensive to liberate Fallujah, Typhoons provided close air support to their operations around the outskirts of the city. A stockpile of components for improvised explosive devices was destroyed with 1 Paveway and a terrorist strong-point with a 2nd.

22 May

Further close air support was provided around Fallujah, when Tornados bombed a tunnel complex where weapons and ammunition were stored.

23 May

Tornados used a Brimstone missile against a further mortar team near Fallujah. Not far away, Iraqi ground forces were in close combat north of Habbaniyah assisted by a pair of RAF Typhoons that struck a mortar team and a rocket position with Paveways. In the north of the country 2o more Typhoons contributed to a coalition strike on Daesh installations west of Mosul, a workshop preparing truck-bombs was assigned as the RAF target and successfully demolished by a Paveway. Across the border, in eastern Syria, an RAF Reaper identified a terrorist checkpoint north-west of Dayr az Zawr and destroyed it with a Hellfire missile.

24 May

A Royal Air Force Reaper remotely piloted aircraft patrolled near Bayji, where Daesh terrorists were engaged in combat with Iraqi forces. The Reaper used 1 Hellfire missile to destroy an artillery gun that was firing on the Iraqi troops, it then used a 2nd Hellfire to break up an attempted Daesh attack along a gully. In northern Iraq, Tornado GR4s attacked a Daesh-held building near Qayyarah with a Paveway IV guided bomb. With the Iraqi offensive to liberate Fallujah well under way, a pair of Paveway-armed Typhoons provided close air support west of the city, where they destroyed 3 stockpiles of terrorist weapons and ammunition.

25 May

Typhoon operations west of Fallujah continued, when they patrolled the area leading to Habbaniyah and on to the outskirts of Ramadi. They conducted a series of Paveway IV attacks, accounting for 2 Daesh positions, including a heavy machine-gun team, as well as an artillery piece and a bunker.

26 May

They returned to the same area the following day, hitting an ammunition cache that had been spotted near the destroyed bunker. They then struck a building north-east of Fallujah where a large group of terrorists had been reported massing for a counter-attack. In the north, Tornados bombed two terrorist-held buildings and a tunnel near Mosul. Later in the day, a Typhoon flight was tasked with eliminating a group of suicide bombers who had been spotted north of Baghdad, preparing for an attempted diversionary attack on the security cordon around the city; a Paveway IV demolished the building in which they were hiding.

27 May

Intensive air operations along the Euphrates valley around Fallujah and the wider area continued. Typhoons silenced 2 sniper teams with Paveway strikes, then intervened in a closely fought combat between Iraqi troops and Daesh near Habbaniyah; particular care and precision was needed to avoid causing casualties to the Iraqi forces, but 3 successful Paveway attacks were accomplished. A 2nd Typhoon flight destroyed a light anti-aircraft gun that was firing on Iraqi personnel near Hit, whilst a pair of Tornados used a Brimstone missile to destroy a truck-bomb in the same area. A Reaper was also active over the Euphrates, using a Hellfire to destroy a vehicle-mounted terrorist team, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, on the outskirts of Fallujah.

29 May

Despite these efforts around Fallujah, the Kurdish forces in the north were not neglected: Tornados bombed a mortar position near Mosul. There were 2 further attacks near Mosul on Sunday 29 May, conducted by Typhoons against another mortar position and a large truck-bomb that was being prepared for use. In the south, near Hit, a Tornado patrol destroyed a Daesh vehicle with a Brimstone missile.

30 May

Intelligence work had identified 2 factory sites in northern Syria, between Al Bab and Manbij, producing improvised explosive devices. A pair of Tornados, armed with 1,000lb Enhanced Paveway II bombs, conducted a deliberate strike on the 2 sites. A Tornado reconnaissance patrol near Mosul used a Paveway to attack a group of terrorists, and a Brimstone to destroy their support vehicle. Typhoons also destroyed 3 weapon stockpiles to the east of Mosul. Another Typhoon mission maintained a close air support presence over Fallujah, and, working very closely with a coalition surveillance aircraft, used Paveway IVs to attack an armed truck and a Daesh fighting position.

31 May

Tornados used Paveway IV guided bombs to destroy 2 heavy machine-guns that were threatening the advancing Iraqi forces; one, mounted on a truck concealed in a palm grove north of Fallujah, the 2nd in a building on the southern outskirts of the city. In northern Iraq, a Typhoon and a Reaper provided assistance to the Kurdish peshmerga and Iraqi forces.

The Typhoons destroyed the headquarters of a local Daesh commander to the south-east of Mosul, using Paveway IVs, while the Reaper assisted a coalition aircraft in targeting an engineering vehicle used for constructing defences near Qayyarah, then used its own Hellfire missiles against 2 terrorist mortar teams. Both the Typhoons and the Reaper then flew south to add their weight to air operations over Fallujah. The Typhoons successfully attacked a 3rd heavy machine-gun position. The Reaper kept close watch on a group of terrorists test-firing and loading weapons, including a heavy machine gun, onto a supply truck. The reaper then destroyed the truck with a direct hit from a Hellfire missile.

Further west, along the Euphrates, near the recently liberated town of Hit, a 2nd Reaper provided support to Iraqi forces consolidating the security of the surrounding area. The Reaper destroyed both a machine-gun team and a vehicle carrying a recoilless anti-tank gun with its Hellfires.