RAF air strikes in Iraq and Syria: September 2018
Updated 16 December 2024
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Wednesday 5 September 2018
A pair of Tornado GR4s, based at RAF Akrotiri, patrolled over the Euphrates valley in eastern Syria on Wednesday 5 September, in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces. A Daesh supply point was identified, located in a building on the outskirts of Hajin, and the Tornados were tasked with its destruction. After the usual careful check for any signs of civilian presence near the target, conducted with the advanced surveillance sensors carried by the aircraft, a single Paveway IV guided bomb was successfully employed to destroy the target.
Friday 7 September 2018
On Friday 7 September, a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft flew an armed reconnaissance mission over the same area. Ten miles north of Abu Kamal, a mechanical excavator was spotted, being used by the terrorists to construct a road block. A Hellfire missile scored a direct hit, destroying the vehicle.
Saturday 8 September 2018
The crew of an RAF Reaper spotted a Daesh terrorist operating a drone to the north of Abu Kamal in eastern Syria, and were able to target the operator with a Hellfire missile.
Sunday 9 September 2018
A Reaper conducted an attack with a Hellfire missile on a pair of Daesh terrorists on a motorcycle north of Abu Kamal.
Sunday 9 September 2018
Two Tornados conducted a further strike in the Euphrates valley on Sunday 9 September; a large building, within a compound to the south of Hajin, was confirmed to be a Daesh command post. Each of the Tornados released a pair of Paveway IVs, and the four weapons completely demolished the building.
Wednesday 12 September 2018
A Reaper provided support to the Syrian Democratic Forces on Wednesday 12 September; a group of Daesh fighters were observed in action on the outskirts of a village to the east of Abu Kamal, throwing grenades and firing a machine-gun. The terrorists attempted to seek protection from our aircraft by taking cover beneath the overhang of a building, but the Reaper’s crew were nevertheless able to guide a Hellfire missile very accurately to strike them.
Friday 14 September 2018
On Friday 14 September, a building east of Abu Kamal was confirmed to be a base for Daesh suicide bombers. A Tornado flight conducted an attack using two Paveway IVs, which demolished the building.
Saturday 15 September 2018
Further support was given to the Iraqi security forces as they continued their work to prevent Daesh resuming operations inside the country. A coalition surveillance aircraft identified two entrances to a tunnel network used by the terrorists, concealed in the hills above the Tigris some fifteen miles north-west of Mosul, and guided a pair of Typhoon FGR4s to the target on Saturday 15 September. Each of the tunnel entrances was successfully struck in turn, using Paveway IVs, and collapsed.
Monday 17 September 2018
Typhoons rendered further assistance to the Iraqi forces on Monday 17 September, using Paveway IVs to attack a Daesh position above a wadi in a remote area of the western Iraqi desert.
Tuesday 18 September 2018
Close support continued to be provided to the Syrian Democratic Forces advancing against Daesh around Abu Kamal. On Tuesday 18 September, a Reaper observed a sizeable group of terrorists moving into a building very close to the SDF. A Hellfire missile was used to strike one part of the building, which successfully dealt with most of the terrorists, whilst a second missile eliminated a smaller group who had taken up position outside.
Wednesday 19 September 2018
A Reaper was again on station over the Abu Kamal area, and its crew conducted two successful attacks with Hellfires on terrorists several miles to the north of the town, concealed in a treeline. Meanwhile, a pair of Paveway IV-armed Typhoons bombed a Daesh command post identified just to the east of Abu Kamal.
Thursday 20 September 2018
The crew of an RAF Reaper caught a group of Daesh extremists in the open, north of Abu Kamal, and struck them with a pair of Hellfire missiles.
Friday 21 September 2018
Friday 21 September saw a Reaper, Typhoons and Tornados all in action near Abu Kamal. The Reaper used a Hellfire missile to kill a terrorist on a motorcycle in the area. Typhoons used one Paveway IV against a group of extremists whom a coalition surveillance aircraft had spotted moving in the open, then employed further three such weapons against a long, low building occupied by other Daesh fighters. Meanwhile, two Tornados provided close support to Syrian Democratic Forces who had encountered two buildings held by terrorists; a highly accurate attack destroyed both positions and removed the threat to the SDF.
Saturday 22 September 2018
In northern Iraq, the security forces tracked several terrorists to a set of tunnels in the bank of the Tigris, a few miles north of Bayji, on Saturday 22 September. A pair of Tornados on a reconnaissance mission were diverted to the area, and they were able to achieve a direct hit on the tunnel entrance. A second pair of Tornados patrolled east of Abu Kamal, and employed a Paveway IV to destroy a building used by Daesh as a weapons store on the banks of the Euphrates. Typhoons bombed a terrorist-held building in the same area.
Sunday 23 September 2018
A Reaper carried out three attacks on Daesh positions near Abu Kamal on Sunday 23 September. Firstly, a heavy weapon was observed being fired from the upper floor of a three-storey building, but this was successfully silenced by a Hellfire missile. A further Hellfire was used against a terrorist-held building close to a Syrian Democratic Forces position, and a GBU-12 guided bomb destroyed a further such building. This latter attack resulted in a series of secondary explosions, indicating that ammunition or explosives had probably been stockpiled therein. Typhoons similarly provided close support to the SDF, eliminating another terrorist strong-point, then flew upstream to the Hajin area where they bombed a terrorist storage point.
Monday 24 September 2018
On Monday 24 September, a Reaper tracked two groups of terrorists as they mustered at a building north-east of Abu Kamal; another coalition surveillance aircraft confirmed that they were respectively Daesh drone and mortar teams. A Hellfire missile against the building eliminated most of the group, and a second missile dealt with the remainder who had attempted to hide in a nearby orchard. Later in the patrol, the Reaper’s crew came to the assistance of Syrian Democratic Forces who had come under fire from a Daesh-held building. Despite the proximity of the SDF, a GBU-12 guided bomb was successfully employed to eliminate the threat. Again in the Abu Kamal area, a flight of Typhoons destroyed two more Daesh-held buildings with Paveway IVs, whilst Tornados attacked a group of terrorists concealed in a treeline.
Tuesday 25 September 2018
Further close support was provided to the SDF on Tuesday 25 September, when a Reaper caught a Daesh mortar in the act of firing, north of Abu Kamal. The mortar team was hit with a GBU-12. The next day, Typhoons used a single Paveway IV to demolish a terrorist strong-point north-east of the town.
Thursday 27 September 2018
On Thursday 27 September, a Reaper used a single Hellfire missile to attack a building north-east of Abu Kamal, which had been identified as containing a Daesh stockpile of explosives. Large secondary blasts followed the missile’s impact, confirming the destruction of the explosives inside.
Friday 28 September 2018
A flight of Tornados provided direct support to SDF as they continued their advance towards Abu Kamal on Friday 28 September. The SDF encountered a Daesh-held building, but this was dealt with by a pair of Paveway IVs from the Tornados. Our aircraft then conducted a further successful attack on a terrorist command post nearby.
Saturday 29 September 2018
Tornado and Typhoon flights gave further assistance to the SDF on Saturday 29 September; a sniper opened fire on the SDF from the upper storey of an abandoned school, but the Typhoons were able to use a Paveway IV with great precision, destroying the floor from which the fire had been coming, but causing as little damage as possible to the remainder of the former school buildings. The Typhoons then conducted a second attack to destroy a cache of weapons hidden in woodland. Meanwhile, the Tornados bombed a building occupied by a number of terrorists.
Sunday 30 September
A Reaper’s crew tracked an armoured truck as it drove at speed north-east of Abu Kamal on the last day of September; a Hellfire missile scored a direct hit on the vehicle, destroying it. Typhoons struck a Daesh-occupied building on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, just across the river from Abu Kamal.