Patience and persistence key to taking down ISIS, British PM says

The British contribution still forms only a tiny part of US-led “Operation Inherent Resolve”, which has been bombing Islamic State targets in both Iraq and Syria for more than a year with hundreds of aircraft.

“It is complex, it is hard what we are asking our pilots to do, and our thoughts should be with them and their families”.

British Tornado bombers have wiped off millions from Islamic State’s multi-billion war-chest in their first mission against the terror network in Syria.

Residents of Akrotiri village which is across the runway of the RAF base of the same name at a jetting peninsula on the southern shores of Cyprus said they saw four Tornado planes taking off in pairs shortly before sunrise. In their first strike in Syrian territory, the United Kingdom warplanes struck six times the Omar oilfield under Islamic State control- a “mainstay” of the group’s financial income, the British defense ministry said in a statement. Details about the vote to bomb ISIS itself showed a large majority in favor of action, with 397 voting yes and 223 voting against.

Media reports prior to Cameron’s remarks emerging said about 50 Labour lawmakers would back action when the vote takes place late on Wednesday, after 10-1/2 hours of debate in parliament.

Obama has said his strategy to fight the militant group in Iraq and Syria does not include United States ground combat troops, but this week, the Pentagon announced it would send a new force of special operations troops.

However there were bitter recriminations in the Labour Party after Wednesday night’s Commons vote exposed the depths of the divisions within its ranks.

Fallon said the UK Ministry of Defence would be assessing the damage done by the bombing later, but the aim was to strike “a very real blow on the oil and revenue on which Daesh (another name for ISIS) depends”.

The jets, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, an unmanned Reaper drone and other coalition aircraft, attacked six targets.

British officials say Royal Air Force Typhoon and Tornado fighter jets, armed with Brimstone missiles capable of hitting moving targets, would bring the campaign highly accurate firepower and help minimize civilian casualties.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn accuses Cameron of leading a rush to war, and has appealed to Labour lawmakers who favour military action to think again. It means that we are going to be able to make a difference to the strike capability of the coalition as a whole. And then just over two years ago, there was an important vote where the British Parliament voted not to get involved in airstrikes against Syria…

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the MoD would be assessing the damage done by the bombing later, saying he had personally approved the targets ahead of the Commons vote.