Britain conducts first airstrikes against ISIS militants since September

BAGHDAD, April 26 (MENA) - The British government announced its first counter-Daesh airstrikes in seven months as part of the continued global coalition campaign against the extremist group.

In a "successful operation" on April 10, a pair of British Royal Air Force Typhoon jets struck Daesh militants in Tuz Khurmatu, south of Kirkuk, "removing several Daesh fighters from the battlefield and further degrading the terrorist movement”, according to a statement by the UK government that was quoted by Iraq's national news agency (NINA).

"The pair of Typhoons, assisted by an RAF Reaper aircraft, identified Daesh terrorists occupying a group of fortified buildings in an isolated location west of Tuz Khurma[tu], known to be inhabited by active terrorist commanders and fighters," read an update published on an government page dedicated to air strikes against the group.

"The aircraft conducted a thorough check of the area for non-combatants, before using a combination of precision guided bombs to destroy the buildings," the statement read.

"The surveillance aircraft continued to scan the area, confirming that all weapons had struck their targets and there was no collateral damage," it added.

The last airstrike to be conducted by British forces was in September, when "a pair of Typhoons responded to reports that a small group of Daesh extremists had been engaged in fighting with Iraqi security forces."

Britain has been a key partner of US-led coalition to defeat ISIS. Their troops have been in Iraq since 2014.