UK to Send Spy Drones Over Syria in Broadening of Anti-IS Campaign

World | October 21, 2014, Tuesday // 15:52
Bulgaria: UK to Send Spy Drones Over Syria in Broadening of Anti-IS Campaign Britain`s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon (R) and Chief of the Defence Staff General Nicholas Houghton (L) arrive for a Cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street, London, England, 25 September 2014. Photo EPA/BGNES

The UK on Tuesday said it is sending Reaper spy drones to fly intelligence-gathering missions over Syria in an extension of British operations against Islamic State (IS) militants.

Rivet Joint electronic surveillance aircraft will also be used in the missions, which are expected to start ‘very shortly’

British Defence Secretary  Michael Fallon said in a statement to Parliament:“As well as their operations over Iraq, both Reapers and Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft will be authorised to fly surveillance missions over Syria to gather intelligence as part of our efforts to protect our national security from the terrorist threat emanating from there.”

He said the remotely-piloted Reaper drones, being redeployed from Afghanistan to the Middle East, were not authorized to use weapons in Syria.

“That would require further permission,” he added.

If such authorisation is given, the Reapers can be used in an attack capacity with Hellfire air-to-surface missiles.

Sending British spy planes on missions over Syria “marks a significant escalation in Britain's involvement” in the campaign against Islamic State militants, The Telegraph said.

So far the UK’s Royal Air Force has used Tornado attack aircraft to fly armed surveillance missions over northern Iraq and conduct airstrikes against IS targets there.  A Rivet Joint spy plane, which carries a variety of sophisticated electronic surveillance sensors, has also been flying over northern Iraq. 

Fallon’s announcement comes in the wake of Monday’s decision by Turkey to allow Iraqi Kurdish fighters to cross the border with Syria to join Syrian Kurds who are battling Islamic State forces in and around the town of Kobane. Also on Monday, US transport aircraft dropped arms, ammunition and medical supplies provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq to Kurdish fighters in Kobane.

In another sign the US-led international coalition is expanding its operations against Islamic State, Canada said it is sending six CF-18 warplanes on Tuesday to join the airstrikes against the Jihadist group in Iraq.

 

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Tags: Islamic state, UK, Royal Air Force, Fallon, Reaper, drones, intelligence-gathering, Iraq, Syria, canada, turkey, US, Kurds, Rivet Joint, electronic surveillance

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