MOSCOW, November 10 (Sputnik) — The British Royal Air Force (RAF) drone has carried out its first airstrike on the positions of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, the UK Defence Ministry stated Monday.
"The Reaper [Remotely Piloted Air System] RPAS [drones], using procedures identical to those of manned aircraft, successfully attacked the terrorists using a Hellfire missile," the statement on the Ministry's website said.
According to the Ministry, a series of mission were conducted near Bayji, north of Baghdad, where IS militants were installing improvised explosive devices.
The RAF Reaper drones had been dislocated in Afghanistan as a means to provide surveillance against IS in Syria. This is the first time the UK used drones to attack IS positions in Iraq.
The UK carried its first non-drone airstrikes against IS in Iraq on September 30, four days after British Parliament approved military operation. Britain sent military trainers to help local forces to stop the advance of IS.
The UK is one of around 40 states, that joined the US-led coalition to fight IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL). IS is the extremist group that has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June IS expanded their attacks to northern and western Iraq and declared Islamic caliphate on their territories.
