The RAF carried out missions over Syria and Iraq overnight, hitting what the Ministry of Defence described as an Islamic State sniper team in Iraq but nothing in Syria.
The update reinforced the belief that one of the problems in conducting airstrikes against Isis in Syria is the lack of immediate targets. The US-led coalition has recently stepped up attacks on the Isis-controlled oil industry, a source of revenue for the group, but has struggled with targets in the Isis stronghold in Raqqa, Syria, where Isis members are almost indistinguishable from the civilian population.
RAF Tornados hit an oilfield in eastern Syria hours after the Commons voted on Wednesday to authorise airstrikes in Syria. The target had been pre-planned to show the UK was now involved.
But last night the Tornados, operating from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, conducted reconnaissance flights over Syria, something they had been doing anyway before the Commons vote.
In Iraq, where the UK has been engaged in bombing raids for the last 15 months, two Tornados supported Iraqi forces fighting Isis in and around Ramadi, which is held by Isis but is surrounded by the Iraqi army.
The MoD said an Isis sniper team opened fire from a compound on Iraqi troops and one of the Tornados killed them with a direct hit using a Paveway guided bomb.
The eight Tornados operating from RAF Akrotiri have been reinforced with two more Tornados and six Typhoons.
