UK Orders Airstrikes in Syria, Targets ISIS Oilfield
Just hours after members of the United Kingdom parliament voted in favor of ordering airstrikes on ISIS in Syria, the British defense ministry announced that the British fighter jets have bombed an oilfield believed to be under ISIS control.
The ministry revealed in its statement:
"The mainstay of Daesh's financial income is derived from exploitation of a number of oilfields that they hold. These are overwhelmingly located in Daesh's heartlands in eastern Syria. Several of these oilfields have already been effectively targeted by other coalition partners; RAF aircraft and precision weaponry are well suited to attacking, with low collateral risk, this type of target."
Daesh is the Arabic term that refers to the Islamic State/ISIS.
Overnight, Britain bombed six targets within an oilfield at Omar.
The ministry explained why bombing this oilfield was vital. The statement continued:
"The Omar oilfield is one of the largest and most important to Daesh's financial operations, and represents over 10% of their potential income from oil. Carefully selected elements of the oilfield infrastructure were targeted, ensuring the strikes will have a significant impact on Daesh's ability to extract the oil to fund their terrorism."
This is the first time that Britain has ordered airstrikes in Syria. The U.K. lawmakers previously voted against bombing Syria in 2013, stating at the time that the nation did not welcome Western intervention. Britain did agree to be a part of the U.S.-led coalition that targeted ISIS in Iraq.
Britain's involvement in the war against ISIS in Syria stemmed from the terrorist attacks that killed 130 people in Paris. After the tragic event, France called upon its allies to step up and help defeat ISIS. UK Prime Minister David Cameron had encouraged the MPs to vote in favor of acting. The vote was 397 to 223 in favor.
So far, the U.S., Russia, France, Australia and Canada have all bombed Syria.
Germany's plan does not include airstrikes. The country will send 1,200 soldiers to help out the anti-ISIS forces but the soldiers will not be in combat.
