British warplanes pound IS to support Iraqi push on Mosul

PanARMENIAN.Net - British Tornado and Typhoon aircraft stationed at a UK air base in Cyprus are pounding Islamic State targets ahead of a major offensive by Iraqi security forces next month to recapture the key northern city of Mosul from IS militants, a senior Royal Air Force officer says, according to the Associated Press.

Air Commodore Sammy Sampson said Iraqi forces are confident they can retake the country's second-largest city from IS and that British warplanes will provide the needed support to get the job done.

"We'll stand by them. We'll support them. We will make it do-able for them," Sampson told reporters Thursday, September 22 on a guided tour of the RAF Akrotiri base's operations.

Sampson said the eight Tornado and six Typhoon aircraft flying out of RAF Akrotiri have in recent days destroyed numerous IS targets to pave the way for the start of the advance on Mosul in the coming weeks. Mosul is the IS group's last major urban stronghold in Iraq, 360 kilometers northwest of Baghdad.

U.S. officials have said for some time that they expect the Mosul operation to begin in October.

"We were striking targets to weaken (IS-held) Mosul from the very beginning of the campaign," said Sampson, who is based in the Combined Air Operations Center in Qatar.

Sampson said the same applies for the Syrian city of Raqqa, which the IS considers its de facto capital. He said air strikes in the Syrian city are "part of the plan" until the decision is made "how and when the liberation of Raqqa is going to be achieved."