RAF Typhoons destroy ISIS stronghold in ten days of bombing raids
THE war against ISIS in Iraq can be won, RAF chiefs claimed yesterday after its Typhoons destroyed a terrorist stronghold where fighters had hidden explosives and ammunition.
British jets, alongside coalition aircraft, targeted 50-100 cave complexes in mountains over 10 days in March.
Pilots saw a number of “secondary explosions” moments after the missile strikes as they hit bombs and munitions hoarded by the terrorists.
The Ministry of Defence was unable to confirm how many terrorists died. Iraqi forces will have to go cave by cave to determine the toll.
Springboard
Air Commodore Simon Strasdin, who leads the air strikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, said Britain, Iraq and coalition forces must continue hunting any remaining fighters or they would become a global problem once again “fairly quickly”.
More than 10,000 ISIS terrorists, also know as Daesh, are in Iraq and Syria. Air Commodore Strasdin said ISIS is on the “back foot”, hiding in caves and the 10-day operation will be the “springboard for chasing down the last remnants”. He added: “This is a war that ends and is winnable.And it is winnable by the Iraqis securing and stabilising this country.”
Terrorists had built walls around the caves in the Makhmur mountain region, south-west from Erbil, to fortify them, air force chiefs revealed.
They had been holding the Iraqi Security Forces at bay so they called in air support over fears they would suffer heavy casualties if they tried to fight through the mountains on foot.
After the strikes a typhoon pilot said: “There is no safe place for small pockets to grab a foothold again.”
Air Commodore Strasdin, who is the UK Air Component Commander in the Middle East, said the operation has changed from targeting an army in the field when ISIS controlled large swathes of Iraq and Syria to attacking insurgents hiding in mountains.
He added: “Our ability to make Daesh turn and run will have a psychological effect on their ability to fight in the future.
“I think we will continue to see this now as the Iraqi Security Forces continue to chase Daesh down in their very final pockets.
“We have been highly successful in containing them in Iraq and Syria and along with our partners on the ground and the Iraqi Security Forces, we continue to denude and deplete their ability to export terrorism.
Toxic
“But if we blink or turn our backs, I have no doubt that Daesh will become a global problem fairly quickly again.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said “The UK is committed to defeating Daesh. This operation will prevent the terrorist group and its toxic ideology from regaining a foothold in Iraq and reduce its capability to coordinate attacks around the world.
“The British Armed Forces, alongside our Iraqi and Coalition partners, continue to root out Daesh terrorists from where they hide.”