UK Air Strikes - Will They Make A Difference?

The Ministry of Defence in London said that the UK has helped reclaim 30per cent of territories seized by Isis in Iraq.

16:47 04 December 2015

After the House of Commons has voted in favor of military action in Syria, two pairs of Tornado GR4s bombed an Isis-controlled oilfield in the eastern part of the country. However, this is not the first effort carried out by Britain; in fact, it has been engaged in a long campaign against Isis for more than a year now.

 

The UK contributes about 8per cent to a US led coalition airstrikes in Iraq and provides 30per cent of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) from its MQ-9 Reaper drones which has been flying over Syria and Iraq.

 

The Ministry of Defence in London said that UK’s effort has helped reclaim 30per cent of territories seized by Isis in Iraq. However, this was only possible because of large number of troops in Iraq that are composed of Iraqi army, Kurdish forces, Iraqi Shia militias, Iranian ‘volunteers’, around 3,500 US troops, an Australian contingent of 600, including excellent special forces, about to rise to a thousand, as well as a modest British contribution of 275. This begs the question, are UK contributions making a difference in this long and hard campaign?