LONDON—Britain joined the US-led bombing campaign over Syria on Thursday, hitting an oil field held by Islamic State jihadists just hours after a decisive parliamentary vote authorized air strikes.
Royal Air Force planes based in Cyprus carried out the “first offensive operation over Syria and have conducted strikes”, a defense ministry spokesman said Thursday, following a vote Wednesday night.
The strikes, carried out by four Tornado fighters, focused on six targets in the oil field in eastern Syria, 48 kilometers from the Syria border, the ministry said.
The first two jets took off around 2330 GMT followed by two more an hour later, each carrying three precision-guided 226kg Paveway bombs and returning without them, the BBC reported.
“This strikes a very real blow at the oil and the revenue on which the Daesh terrorists depend,” Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told the BBC, using an alternative name for IS.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s government was backed by 397 lawmakers compared to 223 who opposed the bombing, giving him the strong mandate he said was essential for military action.
Cameron welcomed the result of the House of Commons vote, writing 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.”
It was also immediately hailed by US President Barack Obama, who said the US would “look forward to having British forces flying with the coalition over Syria”.
The momentum to join the strikes grew after last month’s terror attack on Paris that claimed 130 lives.
French President Francois Hollande on Thursday welcomed the “new response to the call for European solidarity”.
During the 10-hour parliamentary debate, a wide range of MPs from all parties, including main opposition Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, spoke out against air strikes.
Corbyn condemned Cameron’s “ill thought-out rush to war” and said his proposals “simply do not stack up”.
However, Labor was also deeply split on the issue. Some 67 of its 231 MPs reportedly voted in favor of bombing, including 11 members of Corbyn’s frontbench.
“Tornados at dawn” was the front-page headline on Britain’s top-selling paper The Sun, while The Times ran with “PM wins huge backing for war”.
