RAF Reaper unmanned drone
Attacks continue on into January over Iraq
In the early hours of 2 January, a Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 armed reconnaissance patrol located an ISIL armoured personnel carrier to the east of Al Qaim, and conducted a successful strike with a Brimstone missile. Later that day, a coalition surveillance aircraft observed ISIL positions concealed within woods north-west of Ramadi and another Tornado mounted an attack with two Paveway IV precision guided bombs.
ISIL, Iraq, Al Qaim,
On 4 January, an RAF Reaper, working in support of Iraqi army units, identified an ISIL vehicle and engaged it with a Hellfire missile. Shortly afterwards, the Reaper discovered an ISIL position close by, and attacked this with another Hellfire.
RAF, Hellfire, Reaper,
Reaper and Tornado missions were also flown on the morning of 5 January. Tornados again patrolled the Al Qaim area, where they destroyed an ISIL vehicle, being used to construct fortified positions, with a Brimstone missile while a Reaper, scouting ahead of Iraqi troops, spotted an armoured vehicle being moved by ISIL on a heavy equipment transporter. A Hellfire missile scored a direct hit on the armoured vehicle, another Hellfire destroyed the transporter itself, and a third missile struck an ISIL position nearby.
