Led coalition targets oil facilities controlled by Islamic State group in

The airstrikes came hours after British Parliament voted to authorize air attacks against IS targets in Syria.

Air strikes took place within hours of the decision, involving two pairs of RAF Tornadoes launched from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

Thursday’s strikes were reportedly focused on six targets in an oilfield in eastern Syria, which Defense Secretary Michael Fallon called “one of the largest and most important to Daesh’s financial operations”.

The field “represents over 10% of their potential income from oil”, the ministry statement said, adding: “Initial analysis of the operation indicates that the strikes were successful”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin again accused Turkey of profiting from an oil trade with IS.

After 15 years in which hundreds of British troops died serving as the main battlefield ally of the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan, many in Britain are wary of more war in the Middle East. Mr Cameron lost a 2013 vote in Parliament on military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

The U.K. parliament voted Wednesday to expand air strikes in Syria, but a recent poll suggests voters might not be on board. “This is going to take time”, Cameron said.

A wide range of MPs including main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn spoke out against air strikes, condemning Cameron’s “ill thought-out rush to war” and saying his proposals “simply do not stack up”.

Britain and Germany are joining France and the U.S.in escalating the battle against the Islamic State group, creating an appearance of solidarity that masks questions about the effectiveness of the ongoing aerial campaign. “And what we know about fascists is that they must be defeated”, he added.

A ground war to finish off IS will not be possible until a political settlement to the Syrian civil war is reached and rebel groups, the Damascus government and the Kurds are all able to turn their fire on the terror group, he said.

Second, it could diminish French President Francois Hollande’s government in voters’ eyes, which would increase the appeal of anti-immigrant far-right parties.

Britain already has eight Tornado fighter jets plus drones involved in the US-led coalition striking IS targets in Iraq, operating out of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

The work underway at the Shaayrat air base, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the city of Homs, could also signal Moscow’s intention to step up airstrikes in the country’s central region where the Islamic State group is active.