Two RAF tornados spent seven hours in the skies over ISIL positions in Iraq on Saturday, less than a day after British MPs voted to send UK fighter jets to the war-torn country.<br /><br />But the aircraft returned to their airbase in Cyprus without carrying out any air strikes on the militant group.<br /><br />The UK military said the intelligence gathered by the jets’ “highly sophisticated surveillance equipment will be invaluable”.<br /><br />The British aircraft are loaded with laser-guided bombs and missiles.<br /><br />Friday’s parliamentary vote authorised the use of jets but not British troops. It also restricted any UK operations to Iraq rather than Syria. <br /><br />The US has conducted air strikes over Iraq since early August and over Syria since Tuesday.<br /><br />As well as Britain, the coalition against the militant group ISIL is supported by several Gulf and European nations.
