Watch: RAF Bombs Islamic State Oilfield

Watch: RAF Bombs Islamic State Oilfield

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British fighter jets targeted another Syrian oilfield during the second combat sortie from the British base in Cyprus over the weekend.

Typhoons and Reaper Unmanned Aeriel Vehicles (UAVs)  were used for the first time alongside the RAF’s Tornados in an effort to cut off the financial supply to Islamic State (IS). This footage, released by the British Ministry of Defence, shows how the oilfield was targeted.

A statement by the British Ministry of Defence said: “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 (56 km) inside Syria’s eastern border with Iraq.

“The Omar oilfield is one of the largest and most important to Daesh’s financial operations, and represents over 10 per cent of their potential income from oil.”

This strike comes after MPs voted for Britain to join air strikes against ISIS in Syria last week.

The RAF’s ten 20 meters wingspan Reapers are armed with Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs. These drones are used by the RAF for surveillance and air strikes, and have been deployed against the Islamic State since the end of 2014.

British jets also hit seven targets in eastern Syrian oil fields. The Ministry of Defence said: “”Several of these oilfields have already been effectively targeted by other coalition partners; RAF aircraft and precision weaponry are well suited to attacking, with low collateral risk, this type of target.”

Regarding the deployment of additional aircrafts, MoD said: “The RAF Tornado and Reaper aircraft that have been conducting air strikes against Daesh have now been reinforced by a detachment of Typhoon fighters, which carry the same Paveway IV precision guided bombs as the Tornados.

“The deployment of the Typhoons plus an extra two Tornados offers a significant increase in strike capacity to both the RAF component and the wider coalition air campaign.”