In hundreds of sorties over Iraq and Syria over the past eight years, RAF drones have destroyed over 1,500 Islamic State combatants.
Since 2014, RAF drones have struck around 1,500 Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.
Over the region, unmanned MQ-9 Reaper aircraft have flown 4,857 missions.
UN estimates that there are approximately 10,000 IS fighters operating between Iraq and Syria.
Since 2014, British drones have killed or injured around 1,500 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, according to data released Thursday.
In the previous eight years, MQ-9 Reaper planes of the Royal Air Force have conducted 4,857 sorties in the region.
This resulted in the estimated destruction of 1,413 hostile objectives, according to a freedom of information request filed by The Sun on Sunday.
In the previous eight years, the RAF’s MQ-9 Reaper aircraft, pictured here during training in Nevada, has performed 4,857 sorties over the region.
Drone attacks against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria
Year Sorties
Iraq was one of the objectives of the strikes.
Syria was a target.
2014 111 62 s 0s2015 906 350 s 4 s2016 749 476 s 87 s2017 750 69 s 107 s2018 677 0 s 225 s2019 529 2 s 14 s2020 557 15 s 0 s2021 578 0 s 2
The aircraft are equipped with 500-pound laser-guided bombs and air-to-ground Hellfire missiles.
Since 2014, hundreds of MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicles piloted by operators at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and in the United States have performed missions over the region.
Experts based their calculations on drone mission reports and overhead photographs of the debris.
Since reaching a peak of 476 in 2016, when IS was believed to be the deadliest militant organization, the number of foes struck in Iraq has decreased significantly.
According to the data, there were no hits in Iraq in 2021 and in Syria in 2020.
The United Nations estimates that approximately 10,000 IS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria.
In 2019, the Iraqi government declared victory over IS after three years of combat.
In March 2019, Syrian forces supported by the United States declared victory over the Islamic State.
The terrorist organization continues to conduct terror attacks in both nations and around the world.
British forces killed Reyaad Khan, a 21-year-old from Cardiff who had appeared in an ISIS recruitment video, in a 2015 attack in Raqqa, Syria.
Two more British fighters, Ruhul Amin, 26, and Junaid Hussain, 21, were killed in this combined operation with the United States.
Reyaad Khan (left), a 21-year-old from Cardiff who had appeared in an ISIS recruitment video, was killed by British soldiers in 2015. (pictured)
Jihadi John, another notable British member of the ISIS terror group, was killed in Syria in the same year.
In 2014 and 2015, the 27-year-old terrorist, whose real name was Mohammed Emwazi, beheaded hostages in videos released by IS.
After leaving her home in Kent to join ISIS, Sally Jones, often known as The White Widow, was murdered in a 2017 strike.
Sally Jones (pictured), also known as The White Widow, was slain in a Raqqa airstrike in 2017 after leaving Kent to join ISIS.
New ‘Protector’ drones are anticipated to enter service in 2024, with the first delivery to the Royal Air Force occurring in 2020.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace stated during a visit to RAF Waddington, where the fleet of drones will soon be headquartered, that Protector planes might be deployed in Afghanistan if the Taliban allow terrorists to operate there.
During his visit, Mr. Wallace also expressed concern that the “reservoir” of prospective radicals was likely larger than before the September 11 attacks.