After British lawmakers voted 397-223 in favor of bombing the Islamic State in Syria, fighter jets immediately went to work.
According to the British defense ministry, four RAF Tornados were deployed from Akrotiri air base in Cyprus soon after the vote, and targeted the Omar oilfield in eastern Syria.
The move comes after the Parliament had initially rejected military action in Syria in a 2013.
In a statement, the defense ministry said it targeted the oilfields because they are the “mainstay of Daesh’s [the Islamic State’s] financial income.”
“Overnight, RAF Tornado GR4s, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker and a Reaper, and operating in conjunction with other coalition aircraft, employed Paveway IV guided bombs to conduct strikes against six targets within the extensive oilfield at Omar, 35 miles inside Syria’s eastern border with Iraq,” the statement said. “The Omar oilfield is one of the largest and most important to Daesh’s financial operations, and represents over 10 percent of their potential income from oil.”
Def Sec: We are doubling UK strike force against #Daesh by sending 2 Tornados & 6 Typhoons to @RoyalAirForce Akrotiri today.
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) December 3, 2015
Def Sec confirms @RoyalAirForce have hit Omar oil fields in #Syria as part of UK airstrikes against #Daesh
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) December 3, 2015
Initial analysis showed the strikes had been successful, the statement said.
The defense ministry also said Britain would double the UK strike force against the Islamic State by sending additional Tornados and six Typhoon jets to the RAF base at Akrotiri.
The military offensive by the U.K. comes after France asked them to join the U.S.-led coalition against the terror group following the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris.
President Obama welcomed the British move and said the coalition would work “to integrate them into our coalition air tasking orders as quickly as possible.”
(h/t CNN)
