THE LAST WEEK in February saw further action for the RAF Lossiemouth detachment of Typhoons currently undertaking operations against Daesh.
According to the latest Ministry of Defence update the Moray aircrews were involved in operations supporting Turkish Peshmerga forces who have been credited with pushing the terrorist forces back in an area to the north-west of Mosul.
An MoD spokesman said: “A second Typhoon mission near Tall Afar used a Paveway to eliminate a machine-gun team that was also fighting against Iraqi forces.
“On Friday 26 February, Tornados and Typhoons flew missions over northern Iraq. Typhoons bombed a Daesh mortar team that was firing on Kurdish troops near Kisik, while a pair of Tornados used a Brimstone missile to attack a checkpoint east of Bayji.
“They then headed north to the Mosul area where they used a Paveway against a rocket-launcher position.
“Typhoons and Tornados were active again over northern Iraq on Sunday 28 February – a Typhoon flight struck two mortar positions with Paveways and Tornados also used a Paveway IV to demolish a large isolated building from which a terrorist sniper was engaging Kurdish forces south of Sinjar.
“On the ground, British military instructors continue to play a major role in the coalition programme to help train and equip the Iraqi security forces.
“The equipment and training provided by the UK to help counter the threat from improvised explosive devices is proving of particular importance as the Iraqis work to clear the streets of Ramadi of thousands of booby-traps left behind by the defeated terrorists in an attempt to prevent the civilian population from returning.”
Six RAF Lossiemouth Typhoons and attending ground crew were sent to the RAF base at Akrotiri in Cyprus in December following a vote in the House of Commons that authorised action against Daesh terrorists in Syria, joining Tornadoes that had been involved in missions over Iraq for some months.
Recent reports have indicated that the RAF’s mission alongside that of allied forces in support of local ground forces was making major inroads into ejecting Daesh from their strongholds in Syria and Iraq.