The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Lossie jets target IS
Top guns from RAF Lossiemouth have brought Islamic State to breaking point after a series of strikes aimed at liberating the terrorist group’s last stronghold in Iraq.
Typhoons from the Moray base have helped drive IS troops fromMosul over recent days, and their activities will intensify as the Iraqi Army steps up its efforts to retake the northern area.
Air force aces have wiped out weapons reserves belonging to IS.
They deployed a guided bomb to explode a truck the terrorists had filled with bombs to the south of Mosul, and obliterated a stockpile o f deadly weapons north of the city.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) last night confirmed that pilots from Lossiemouth and the RAF Coningsby base in Lincolnshire had played a crucial role in the ongoing effort to pound IS into submission.
It is believed that 5,000 IS fighters remain in Mosul, which remains their last stronghold in Iraq.
But US military sources yesterday said the terror group’s leaders were fleeing the city.
On Monday, RAF fighter jets destroyed a truck filled with explosives using a Paveway IV guided bomb.
Then, on Tuesday, Typhoon pilots fired on destroyed more targets.
An MoD statement said: “RAF Typhoons and Reaper remotely piloted aircraft have continued to provide air support to the forces advancing on Mosul.
“OnTuesday, a pair ofTyphoons destroyed a number of improvised explosive devices laid in a defensive belt, as well as a weapons stockpile and a Daesh (IS) strongpoint.”