RAF kills Islamic State terrorist in first targeted strike on Daesh in 8 months

The Reaper drone is often used for strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria (Image: MOD)

The RAF has killed a so-called Islamic State terrorist in the first confirmed air strike since Labour came to power. A Reaper drone tracked the individual in north-west Syria before firing a Hellfire missile.

The strike on February 25 was part of Operation Shader - the UK’s mission against IS, also known as Daesh, in Iraq and Syria. The Ministry of Defence said in a statement: “Royal Air Force aircraft continue to conduct armed reconnaissance patrols over Syria to counter Daesh terrorism threats, ready to strike such targets should they be identified. On Tuesday 25 February, a remotely-piloted Reaper aircraft tracked a known Daesh terrorist in the Aleppo Governate of north-west Syria. 

"The Reaper’s crew kept a close watch on the individual: when he was seen alone on foot, and could be struck with minimal risk to any civilians, they successfully targeted the terrorist using the Reaper’s Hellfire missile system.”

Operation Shader has been running since 2014 and has seen more than 1,000 airstrikes carried out - but the pace of the mission has reduced in recent years.

The last known RAF strike on the group was in June - a Reaper again fired a Hellfire missile after tracking a target in a desert area.

The previous UK strike was by a Typhoon fighter jet in April 2024, which fired a precision-guided bomb to destroy a rocket launcher system in north-west Iraq.

The collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has raised fears that there could be a resurgence in the cell.

In December, the US said it had killed the leader of IS in Syria.

The announcement of the British strike comes days after US forces killed a senior military leader of the Al-Qaeda affiliate Hurras al-Din in Syria.

The US has around 900 troops in Syria as part of an international coalition against IS.