Britain joined US-led air strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on 3 December , with the air strikes beginning hours after a parliamentary vote.
The Royal Air Force fighter aircraft based in Cyprus returned from the “first operation over Syria”, a Ministry of Defense spokesperson said on 3 December, following a vote on 2 December evening. He, however, refused to give details of the sites targeted.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s government was backed by 397 lawmakers as against 223, giving him a mandate, he said, was must for military action.
Hailing the House of Commons vote, Cameron wrote on Twitter: “I believe the House has taken the right decision to keep the UK safe—military action in Syria as one part of a broader strategy.”
US President Barack Obama also welcomed the move He said the US would “look forward to having British forces flying with the coalition”, he added.
But during the debate, MPs from all parties, including opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, spoke out against the air strikes.
Some 2,000 anti-war protesters also held a protest ahead of the vote. Corbyn condemned Cameron’s “ill thought-out rush to war” and said his proposals “simply do not stack up”.
However, Labour was split on the issue. Some 67 of its 231 MPs reportedly voted in favour of bombing, including 11 members of Corbyn’s team.
Britain, which has eight Tornado fighter jets plus drones in the US-led coalition, will now add more jets. But experts question how much Britain, which has been wary of joining foreign conflicts in recent years, would add to the campaign against ISIS in Syria.
“It will not make much of a difference,” said Professor Malcolm Chalmers, of military think-tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). “It is important symbolically, useful operationally, but not transformative.”
Officials say, seven plots were foiled by intelligence services in the last year alone. Cameron said, this figure showed it was right to take immediate action. “These terrorists are plotting to kill us and attack us because of who we are, not because of what we do”.
