Guidance

RAF air strikes in Iraq and Syria: September 2017

Updated 16 December 2024

Friday 1 September

Typhoons continued operations over Raqqa when they used a Paveway IV to destroy a Daesh held building from which fire was being directed at the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). A mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair conducted reconnaissance before joining a coalition strike on a large, dispersed terrorist site near Al Qaim in western Iraq. The Royal Air Force (RAF) targets at the complex were accommodation and storage blocks, and an anti-aircraft position. All 3 were struck by Paveway IVs.

Saturday 2 September

Typhoons patrolled over eastern Syria, and used a Paveway to attack a lorry and trailer being used by Daesh some 12 miles south east of As Shadaddi, close to the border with Iraq.

RAF Typhoons, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, flew close air support for the SDF as they continued to battle Daesh inside Raqqa. Our aircraft delivered 6 attacks with Paveway IV guided bombs against Daesh positions, often having to strike targets very close to the SDF, including a heavy machine gun and 2 sniper teams.

Wednesday 6 September

Typhoons continued operations over Raqqa, eliminating a further machine gun position and a sniper.

Thursday 7 September

Tornados patrolled over northern Iraq. A couple of miles north east of Hawijah, a truck carrying a group of extremists was successfully targeted using a Brimstone missile. Our aircraft were then tasked with the destruction of a fuel depot near Sharqat where Daesh had been spotted refuelling truck bombs, as well as a nearby accommodation block used by the terrorists. Both were struck with Paveway IVs. Over Raqqa, Typhoons flew further close support missions for the SDF, bombing successfully a light machine gun position.

Friday 8 September

A Reaper remotely piloted aircraft conducted armed reconnaissance over a largely desert area some 20 miles north east of Dayr az Zawr. Two terrorists were tracked on a motorcycle as they collected weapons and headed out to set up an apparent ambush position. They were both killed by a single Hellfire missile. Not far away, another small group of terrorists were seen entering a small building, and also eliminated with a Hellfire. The following day, another Reaper flew a further patrol in the same area of Syria, and tracked a group of 3 terrorists on a motorcycle and trailer. The Reaper’s crew waited patiently until the targets were in open countryside before firing a Hellfire which scored a direct hit.

Monday 11 September

A flight of RAF Tornados supported the SDF fighting in Raqqa, when Paveway IV guided bombs were used to destroy 2 sniper positions. A second Tornado flight patrolled north east of Dayr az Zawr, where they attacked a group of terrorists in a compound with a Paveway IV. Survivors of the attack then attempted to move to another position on a motorcycle, but were successfully engaged with a Brimstone missile. The following day, a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft operated in the same area near Dayr az Zawr, and provided precision targeting that enabled a coalition air strike to destroy a truck bomb workshop and a vehicle that was being prepared there.

Wednesday 13 September

Another Reaper continued patrolling near Dayr az Zawr. It used 2 Hellfire missiles to attack terrorists spotted on foot, then employed a third missile to destroy an armoured truck bomb positioned next to a main road. A mixed Tornado and Typhoon pair meanwhile targeted a group of Daesh in a building nearby, scoring a direct hit with a Brimstone.

Thursday 14 September

Tornados operated over northern Iraq, where significant truck bomb activity had been detected some miles south of Qayyarah. Four such truck bombs were destroyed by our aircraft using 2 Brimstones and 2 Paveways, and a further 2 Paveways were used to destroy a workshop producing the booby trapped vehicles.

Friday 15 September

A Reaper was again very active north east of Dayr az Zawr; it provided support to coalition airstrikes which destroyed 3 Daesh held buildings, then conducted 2 attacks on its own account with Hellfire missiles against terrorists moving through the area. Nearby, a Typhoon flight bombed a further Daesh held building.

Saturday 16 September

Operations focused on both northern and western Iraq. In the north, a Typhoon mission destroyed an engineering vehicle being used by the terrorists to construct fieldworks near Az Zawiyyah, while a Brimstone attack by Tornados knocked out an armoured personnel carrier south of Qayyarah. In the west, a pair of Tornados used 4 Paveway IVs to destroy a Daesh headquarters and a truck bomb facility in the desert near Rutbah.

Sunday 17 September

A Reaper conducted yet another successful attack north east of Dayr az Zawr, eliminating a truck bomb with a Hellfire, whilst to the south east, close to the border with Iraq, 2 Tornados bombed a weapons store near Abu Kamal.

Monday 18 September

The primary focus for RAF activity over the past week has been supporting Iraqi operations against remaining Daesh positions in northern Iraq. A pair of Tornados conducted 2 attacks on Monday, using Paveway IV guided bombs to eliminate a mortar team south east of Sharqat, and a tunnel entrance and nearby heavy machine gun position north west of Tikrit.

Wednesday 20 September

Typhoons successfully bombed a truck carrying mortars some 25 miles north west of Bayji. The following day, Typhoons employed 2 Paveway IVs to destroy a terrorist command post and weapons stockpile in Hawijah, while a Tornado flight demolished a Daesh strongpoint north east of Sharqat, then dealt with a second weapons stockpile south of Qayyarah.

Friday 22 September

The SDF fighting in Raqqa also received support, with Paveway armed Typhoons bombing a sniper team and another terrorist position. In northern Iraq, Tornados struck a Daesh command post 15 miles west of Hawijah with 2 Paveway IVs.

Saturday 23 September

Our aircraft were particularly active today over northern Iraq. Typhoons destroyed a truck bomb west of Hawijah, a terrorist held building 30 miles west, north west of Kirkuk, and a mortar team, that was firing on Iraqi forces, in the hills south west of Zawiyyah. A second Typhoon flight successfully bombed a weapons stockpile south east of Hawijah, then conducted a simultaneous attack on 4 truck bombs blocking one of the routes of advance towards the town. Near Sudayrah, Tornados used one Paveway to destroy a pair of truck bombs, a second Paveway to destroy an armed truck, then a third such weapon south east of Sharqat against a Daesh building. Another Tornado flight bombed a command post south-east of Hawijah, then used a combination of Brimstone missiles and Paveway IVs to destroy a shipping container and 3 truck bombs blocking other roads into Hawijah.

Sunday 24 September

A Reaper kept watch over the area north east of Dayr az Zawr in Syria, and used a Hellfire missile to destroy a truck bomb. Over northern Iraq, Tornados demolished a Daesh held building in Zawiyyah with a Paveway IV.

Monday 25 September

A Royal Air Force Reaper remotely piloted aircraft patrolled some miles to the north-east of Dayr az Zawr in Syria. Its crew tracked 2 terrorists and conducted a successful attack with a Hellfire missile, then struck a Daesh held building with a GBU-12 guided bomb. A second Hellfire was employed against a group of terrorists on foot, and a third destroyed a truck carrying more extremists. Two Typhoons flew a mission in the same area and, assisted by the Reaper, delivered an attack with a Paveway IV guided bomb on a position from which rocket-propelled grenades had been fired.

Wednesday 27 September

A Reaper continued operations north east of Dayr az Zawr, where it used a pair of Hellfires against a dispersed group of terrorists armed with rocket propelled grenades. In Iraq, Tornados and Typhoons responded to reports of Daesh activity several miles south east of Ramadi. Two groups of terrorists on foot were hit with Paveway IVs, as was a further group manning a trench. A convoy of trucks carrying a large number of terrorists had also been spotted, and our aircraft tracked down and attacked 5 of these vehicles using a combination of Paveways and Brimstone missiles.

Thursday 28 September

North east of Dayr az Zawr, a Reaper delivered 3 attacks: Hellfire missiles hit a sniper team and another group of terrorists, whilst a GBU-12 was used to demolish a Daesh held building. In northern Iraq, Tornados conducted a simultaneous attack with a Paveway IV and a Brimstone on a local terrorist command group who had been identified south of Kirkuk.

Friday 29 September

Tornados and Typhoons flew further missions south of Kirkuk when they hit a number of terrorists concealed in woodland, 2 entrenched positions, and a Daesh held building. Our aircraft also used a single Paveway IV to destroy a small headquarters located in the hills to the north-east of Tikrit.

Saturday 30 September

Two Tornados, armed with Paveway IVs, destroyed a truck bomb factory located on the southern bank of the Euphrates in western Iraq.