United Kingdom uses Tornados to strike ISIS strongholds in Syria and Iraq

The UK’s first air strikes against Islamic State (also known as ISIL, ISIS and Daesh) were launched on Thursday, just hours after Parliament approved military action in Syria.

France welcomed the first British airstrikes in Syria, saying they are a sign of the European solidarity promised after the deadly November 13 attacks on Paris claimed by Islamic State militants.

“We are striking at Islamic State’s (ISIS) core in Iraq and in Syria, we are intensifying our support to local partners fighting ISIS on the ground, we are increasingly sinking our efforts to prevent foreign fighters from destroying our homelands”, he said.

“They also discussed ways to further bolster our already robust counterterrorism cooperation, and the President, on behalf of the American people and accepted the Prime Minister’s (Cameron) condolences for the loss of life in the San Bernardino shootings this week”, the statement said.

The aircraft remained on patrol over the east of Syria and western Iraq “to collect intelligence on possible terrorist positions and be ready to strike any further targets”, the MoD said. The other issue is whether military action will make a difference.

Hours after Britain’s Parliament authorized military action in Syria, its Tornado warplanes struck oil fields in eastern Syria that help finance IS.

Before dawn on Thursday, British bombers took off from the Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus to attack Islamic State targets.

Michael Fallon, the secretary of state for defence, said the overnight strikes had hit the al-Omar oil field, while activists in the province of Deir Ezzor reported other coalition strikes on the al-Jafra and al-Tanak oil fields, as well as the Conoco gas processing plant, in some of the most intense bombings of Isis facilities in the area over the past year. “They’ve been making a lot of money out of oil”, said Fallon.

An worldwide coalition has stepped up its campaign against the group since last month’s ISIL attacks in Paris in which 130 people were killed.

“We are going to need to be patient and persistent”.

He said: “It will be just a few more jets, (which have been) flying across Syria and hitting Isis for more than a year”.

Washington praised Britain’s increased involvement in the air campaign.

A recent Daily Mail poll shows Corbyn is the “most unpopular new party leader ever”, and that unpopularity was witnessed as 76 of Corbyn’s 229 broke rank voting in favor of the strikes.

30 said it would deploy up to 50 USA special forces to Syria to coordinate on the ground with US-backed rebels.

“We must leave all arguments and disagreements behind and make one powerful fist, a single anti-terror front, which would work on the basis of worldwide law under the aegis of the United Nations”, Putin said.

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

The last Syria peace talks in Vienna held last month brought together 17 countries including Russian Federation, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Iran.