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British drones target ISIS for the first time

Reasons to fear the Reaper

The RAF has launched its first drone strikes against Islamic fundamentalists ISIS, marking an escalation of Blighty's air war in Iraq.

A British Reaper drone attacked a terrorist encampment near Bayji, north of Baghdad, where militants were planting improvised explosive devices.

It then circled the area, providing real-time intelligence to manned missions, who continued to pummel ISIS targets.

Although this is the first time a UAV has officially been involved in killing ISIS zealots, the RAF has launched a series of attacks in recent weeks.

The latest manned mission took place on Sunday morning, when two RAF Tornado GR4s destroyed a shipping container near Al Anbar, an area to the west of Baghdad.

According to the MoD, the container was "used by the terrorists to store equipment to support extortion and control of the local population".

The RAF has now officially flown 11 sorties against ISIS, according to its press briefings. ®

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