RAF bombing raids on oil wells in eastern Syria have dealt a “real blow” to the financing of terror group Islamic State, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said.
Mr Fallon confirmed that he personally approved the targets in the Omar oil field before Wednesday night’s House of Commons vote, and gave final permission for the raid to go ahead after MPs had given their approval for the extension of air strikes from Iraq into Syria.
The Defence Secretary indicated that military action against IS – also known as Isil, Isis and Daesh – can be expected to continue for years, rather than months, telling BBC1’s Breakfast: “This is not going to be quick.”
Mr Fallon said: “I can confirm that four British Tornados were in action after the vote last night attacking oil fields in eastern Syria – the Omar oil fields – from which the Daesh terrorists receive a huge part of their revenue.”
He added: “This strikes a very real blow at the oil and the revenue on which the Daesh terrorists depend.”
Asked whether the UK’s involvement in military action in Syria would makeBritain a target, Mr Fallon told ITV1’s Good Morning Britain: “The sad news iswe are already a target … Britain is well up the hit-list for Daesh terrorists.
“We are already a target and we have got to do something about this now.”
Attacking IS’s oil facilities would deprive them of financing and undermine their operations in north-east Syria, “from where these threats to western Europe, these plots, are all being hatched and devised”, he said.
Following Wednesday’s divisions in Parliament, Mr Fallon said: “We ended up with a strong and very decisive vote in favour of action and I hope everybody now will rally round that action and support the RAF in their efforts to keep our country safe.”
Michael Fallon (Ben Pruchnie / Getty Images)
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell – who voted against air strikes – told BBCRadio 4’s Today: “Parliament has now made a decision and my view now is we wishour military, our pilots, safe home and we pray and hope that innocent liveswill not be lost. I fear that they will.
“I didn’t support the bombing of Iraq and I don’t believe bombing is the right answer, but we are now engaged in war and I wish our pilots safe home.
“I am hoping now we can come to a resolution so we can move beyond the military and arrive at a political solution.”
An RAF captain has said he is “absolutely confident” there will be no civilian casualties as air strikes were launched over Syria.
Captain Richard Davies, of RAF Marham in Norfolk said: “In over 400 air strikes that the RAF has carried out in Iraq, we have had absolutely no civilian casualties reported.
“The rules of engagement that our crews apply both in the air and by the commanders on the ground mean that I am absolutely confident that that willcontinue to be the case with operations in Syria.”
The Scottish National Party’s foreign affairs committee member Stephen Gethins MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We want to see an end to Daesh … andwe were arguing that you don’t just have to go down the bombing route, you canlook at its finances, you can look at hitting its poisonous propaganda.
“So we will see if these military air strikes have any impact… They might make a difference, but they are pretty crowded skies at the moment. You have had 2,500-3,000 sorties taken on Daesh targets. I am a member of the foreign affairs committee… and we were told by military experts that this UK action would have at best a marginal effect and at worst could even make things worse.”
He said he was “uncomfortable with clapping and cheering on the cusp of bombing” following Hilary Benn’s speech in the House of Commons.
Mr Gethins, whose party voted unanimously against air strikes, said: “Once our service personnel are in operation … people get behind them.
A councillor in Lossiemouth this morning said ‘I opposed these strikes but I am getting right behind our personnel’, and that’s what we’ll be doing.”Syria Vote: What David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn said in yesterday’s debate – click here to read more
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