Four Royal Air Force Tornados took off from a British air base in
Akrotiri, Cyprus, shortly after the 397-223 vote by lawmakers in the
House of Commons.
A Ministry of Defense spokesman told the AP the planes had conducted
strikes in Syria, and details about their targets would be provided
later Thursday.
He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with British policy for government spokespeople.
The RAF has been launching strikes against IS targets in Iraq since
2014. The decision to expand the campaign to Syria came after an
emotional 10 1/2-hour debate in which Prime Minister David Cameron said
that Britain must strike the militants in their heartland and not "sit
back and wait for them to attack us."
Opponents argued that Britain's entry into Syria's crowded airspace
would make little difference, and said Cameron's military plan was based
on wishful thinking that overlooked the messy reality of the Syrian
civil war.
Cameron has long wanted to target IS in Syria, but had been unsure of
getting majority support in the House of Commons until now. He suffered
an embarrassing defeat in 2013 when lawmakers rejected a motion backing
attacks on the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The mood has changed following the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, claimed by IS,
that killed 130 people. Both France and the U.S. have urged Britain to
join their air campaign in Syria, and Cameron said Britain should not
let its allies down.
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