LONDON
British military jets have taken off and are ready to attack in Iraq targets of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, the Ministry of Defense announced.
The Royal Air Force Tornado aircraft took off from the RAF Akrotiri base on Cyprus on Saturday.
A ministry spokesman said: "We can confirm that Royal Air Force Tornados continue to fly over Iraq and are now ready to be used in an attack role as and when appropriate targets are identified.”
British lawmakers have voted Friday for the country to join in U.S.-led air strikes in Iraq against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL.
Parliament was recalled by Prime Minister David Cameron for this vote which passed with ease with 524 MPs voting for military strikes, and 43 voting against. The leadership of all the three main parties backed the motion for military action against ISIL.
“The Question before the house today is how we keep the British people safe from the threat posed by ISIL?” he asked.
He questioned what the U.K.'s role should be, in particular the armed forces in the international coalition "to dismantle and ultimately destroy what president Obama has rightly called "this network of death.""
Six U.K. fighter jets will now take part in air strikes against ISIL. Downing street said that a small number of troops could be sent to Iraq but would not play a combat role but would be used to train Iraqi and Kurdish forces, as well as guide U.K. air strikes.
Speaking in parliament before the vote, Cameron said that ISIL were, “psychopathic terrorists trying to kill us,” and that the group had, “already declared war on us.”
In his speech at parliament he described the organization as “a terrorist organization unlike those we have dealt with before…The brutality is staggering - beheadings, crucifixions, the gouging out of eyes, the use of rape as a weapon, the slaughter of children. All of these things belong to the dark ages.”
"This is not a threat on the far side of the world. Left unchecked, we will face a terrorist caliphate on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a NATO member with a declared and a proven determination to attack our country and our people,” warned the prime minister.
In 2003, the U.K. went to war with Iraq over claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and the Iraqi military had the capability to hit British troops in Cyprus in 45 minutes, none of which were later proven to be true.
Cameron said, “We must not use past mistakes as an excuse for indifference or inaction.”
The Prime Minister also said that there was a “strong case,” for military action in Syria as well as Iraq, and that there was “no legal barrier,” to stop Britain taking action in Syria.
Last year, Cameron lost a parliamentary vote to attack the Syrian regime, but now lawmakers are thought to be more supportive of action against ISIL, which controls large areas of Syria and Iraq and has horrified world opinion by committing atrocities against civilians and prisoners.
The opposition leader Ed Miliband supported the government in its quest to join the air strikes.
“ISIL is not simply a murderous organization; it has ambitions for a state of its own - a caliphate across the Middle East, run according to their horrific norms and values,” said Miliband.
“ISIL is a death cult; it's a gang of terrorist murderers. It's not an army and it's certainly not an army that's going to be destroyed by aerial bombardment,” he added.
There was some opposition amongst MPs with Green party lawmaker Caroline Lucas saying that “killing extremists does not kill their ideas.”
George Galloway of the Respect party launched a scathing attack saying former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s “mouthpieces” who are still in parliament and said that there was a sense of “mission creep,” even before the motion had been passed.
“The last people that should be returning to the scene of the crime are Britain, France and the United States of America,” Galloway said.
The government motion put forward does not mention any air strikes in Syria.
The U.K. is already supplying arms to Iraqi Kurds and conducting aerial surveillance operations but has so far not joined airstrikes on ISIL, either in Syria or Iraq.
The U.S., along with Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, carried out strikes on Monday night against ISIL targets in Syria.
ISIL continues to control large swathes of land in Syria and Iraq and has posted execution videos of hostages, including two American journalists and a British aid worker.
In the debate, Cameron said that ISIL is a threat to the “streets of Britain.”
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