Operation Shader
| Operation Shader | |
|---|---|
| Part of 2014 military intervention against ISIS | |
| Location | Northern Iraq |
| Planned by |  David Cameron (PM) Nick Clegg (Deputy PM) |
| Objective | Quarantine the expansion of the Islamic State |
| Date | 16 August - present |
| Executed by |  Royal Air Force British Army |
| Outcome | Ongoing |
| Casualties | 2-5? Islamic State militants killed |
Operation Shader is the official name of the on going British military operation which is currently running in northern Iraq to contain the expansion of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and to support the Iraqi Army.
Background
Timeline of the Iraqi insurgency (2014) and Persecution of Yazidis by the Islamic State.
The United Kingdom sent 16 August spy plane and aid packages delivered in a Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft to help the Yazidi refuges on Mount Sinja [1] As this took place Kurdish activists held protest rallies central London against ISIS massacre.[2]
Air strikes
The House of Commons voted 524 votes in favor and 43 votes against airsirikes apon ISIS targets in northen Iraq on 26 September.[3][4] With in hours of this 6 Panavia Tornado GR4 strike aircraft of No. 2 Squadron RAF deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus were prepared for their first armed sorties over Iraq in what the RAF code named "Operation Shader".[5]
On 27 September the Ministry of Defence announced that 2 Tornado GR4 strike aircraft had begun armed reconnaissance missions Iraq.[6]
An Airbus Voyager in-flight refueling aircraft was also in used a second sortie over Northern Iraq on 28 September.[7]
A British Panavia Tornado jet dropped a Paveway IV bomb on "a heavy weapon position" operated by ISIS in northwest Iraq on September 30th, 2014, thus marking the first engagement of the British military against IS targets.[8] 2 RAF Tornados used a Paveway IV bomb blow up a ISIS truck in northern Iraq.[9]
2 RAF Tornado bombers deployed to Akrotiri, went on a combat sortie and hit 2 ISIS targets overnight acording to the Ministry of Defence has said on 1 October.[10]
British jihadists threaten ‘imminent’ terror attack to avenge UK airstrikes on ISIS in Iraq on October 02.[11]
It was revealed on October 2 that 3 ISIS member deceased Britons were originally Tower Hamlets’s Bangladeshi district. A fourth British casualty, Ibrahim Kamara, was a 19-year-old student from Brighton. [12]
Politics
Although the Parliament of the United Kingdom only voted on the 26th for airstrikes in Iraq, the British Prime Minister David Cameron made clear that he thought there was also a "strong case" for airstrikes in Syria. He warned that would British operations may extend to the country if a "humanitarian catastrophe" unfolded and that that any extension of airstrikes from Iraq into Syria would not require another House of Commons vote.[13]
Resources in use or on standby
Personnel
- 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment[14]
- Special forces including the Special Air Service (SAS)
Aircraft
- 8 Tornado GR4 attack aircraft[15]
- 1 Voyager inflight refueling aircraft[16][17]
- 1 Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo plane[18]
- 4 Boeing Chinook helicopters[18]
- 1 Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint Reconnaissance aircraft[16][17]
Ships
- 1 Type 45 destroyer
- 1 Trafalgar-class submarine
- Unknown Submarine[18]
See also
- American-led intervention in Iraq
- 2014 Iranian intervention in Iraq
- Opération Chammal
- Battle of Sinjar
- Persecution of Yazidis by the Islamic State
- Battle for Mosul Dam
- 2014 military intervention against ISIS
References
- ^ iraq-crisis-britain-sends-spy-plane-and-aid-packages-as-isis-massacres-80-yazidi-men-9673157.html
- ^ http://voiceofrussia.com/uk/news/2014_08_16/Kurdish-activists-hold-protests-in-London-against-ISIS-massacre-7961/
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-29362884M
- ^ Robinson, Nick (2014-09-26). "MPs support UK air strikes against IS in Iraq". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
- ^ Islamic State air strikes: RAF to launch Operation Shader – BBC News, 26 September 2014.
- ^ "RAF Tornado jets fly ready for attack role over Iraq". Retrieved 27 September 2014.
- ^ http://www.armytimes.com/article/20140926/NEWS08/309260049/UK-aircraft-prepared-attack-militants-Iraq
- ^ RAF Tornados strike first Islamic State targets - Flightglobal.com, 30 September 2014
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2775050/British-jets-make-SEVENTH-sortie-Iraq-without-firing-weapons-Foreign-Secretary-says-RAF-not-panicked-dropping-bombs.html
- ^ http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/raf-bombers-attack-two-islamic-state-targets-in-iraq-mod-says/ar-BB6Kf9j
- ^ http://rt.com/uk/192604-british-jihadists-terror-threat/
- ^ http://rt.com/uk/192604-british-jihadists-terror-threat/
- ^ Swinford, Steven (2014-09-26). "David Cameron says there is 'strong case' for air strikes in Syria". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-09-26.
- ^ "Yorkshire Regiment soldiers land in Iraq to prepare rescues from IS attackers". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ "PM At Cyprus Base As More Jets Join IS Fight". Sky News. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ^ a b "UK aircraft prepared to attack militants in Iraq". Army Times. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ a b c "Islamic State terrorists dive for cover as British air assault on terrorist organisation nears". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ a b c "Islamic State crisis: Coalition weaponry". BBC. Retrieved 1 October 2014.