The Ministry of Defence has admitted the British air force was involved in the military action which killed over 60 Syrian troops in a case of mistaken identity. The soldiers were in fact fighting against IS, but tragically this information was shared to prevent the unnecessary loss of life.
The attack was thought to have been carried out by US, Danish and Australian forces, however a Tweet from the MOD (Ministry of Defence) has admitted the attack involved the British armed forces. The attack, on Sunday, left over sixty soldiers dead and over one hundred thought to have been injured, so the final total of those killed could rise over the coming days. IS were said to have taken the position in the aftermath of the attack, but it was wrestled back by extra Syrian troops.
There is currently a very fragile ceasefire in Syria, however attacks on IS are still sanctioned. Russia and the US have been sharing limited amounts of information, with each other, about their planned raids. The Russian military blamed the US for the lack of co-ordination that led to this tragedy.
UK airstrikes are part of Operation Shader in Syria after a parliamentary vote in favour of intervention in December 2015. A previous vote in 2013 did not allow air strikes. The raids have been launched from their RAF base in Cyprus.
An MoD spokesman said: “We can confirm that the UK participated in the recent coalition air strike in Syria, south of Deir al-Zour on Saturday and we are fully co-operating with the coalition investigation.”
MOD statement on involvement in recent #Syria air strike. pic.twitter.com/DyPxE8rmiL
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) September 19, 2016
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