British Royal Air Force, (RAF), jets have made their first air strikes on two strategic positions in Iraq.<br /><br />The UK is the latest nation to join an international effort to destroy the self-proclaimed Islamic State, otherwise known as ISIL.<br /><br />Two Tornado jets were on an “armed reconnaissance mission” when they responded to a call from Kurdish troops for assistance in north-west Iraq, the Ministry of Defence, (MoD), said.<br /><br />Kurdish sources reportedly said the RAF strikes were integral to retaking “an important border crossing” at Rabia, near the border with Syria.<br /><br />“They identified and attacked a heavy weapons position that was endangering Kurdish forces and they subsequently attacked an (ISIL) armed pick-up truck in the same area,” Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told the British media.<br /><br />Both attacks were said to be successful.<br /><br />British MPs voted in favour of air strikes against militants in Iraq on Friday (September 26).<br /><br />The UK’s first bombing in Iraq since the 2003 invasion of the country came on the eve of British Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech to the Conservative Party conference.<br /><br />While some are sceptical about the effectiveness of air strikes, Cameron says it is one of a number of ways to destroy ISIL.<br /><br />Most important, he said, is the need for more effective and better-trained Iraqi troops, as well as better-armed Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.
