UK Air Force Conducts Airstrikes On IS Stronghold In Iraq In 10-Day Operation

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) participated in a 10-day operation by the US-led coalition in March aimed at clearing Iraq of members of the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia) and carried out a major air offensive against terrorists, the UK Ministry of Defence said on Thursday

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2021) The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) participated in a 10-day operation by the US-led coalition in March aimed at clearing Iraq of members of the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia) and carried out a major air offensive against terrorists, the UK Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.

"In an operation lasting 10 days in March this year, the Iraqi Security Forces ground troops cleared Daesh terrorists from the Makhmur Mountain region, south-west from Erbil, while RAF and other coalition aircraft carried out a major air offensive," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also said the operation was completed on March 22 when the US-led coalition received information confirming that terrorists were hiding in caves in the country's northern Makhmur mountains.

"Three Typhoon FGR4s were tasked to conduct an attack using Storm Shadow missiles, the remote area having first been checked to ensure that no civilians would be placed at risk. The strike on the Daesh targets was assessed by subsequent surveillance to have been a success," the ministry added.

Though Iraq declared victory over IS in late 2017, the country's military still conducts operations with the support of the US-led coalition and militia units against terrorists and sleeper cells active in different parts of the country.

According to the coalition's estimates, there are still some 10,000 terrorists in Syria and Iraq. The UK defense ministry, in turn, said the coalition forces killed 67 terrorists in action and injured four others in the two countries from 2019-2020.