RAF Jets Poised To Strike Jihadists In Iraq

British fighter jets could begin airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq as early as today after MPs overwhelmingly backed action.

Parliament gave approval by 524 votes to 43 (a massive majority of 481) for Britain to join the US-led coalition in the Middle East.

The vote came after Prime Minister David Cameron said IS forces are "psychopathic terrorists trying to kill us".

Labour MP Rushanara Ali immediately resigned from the party's front bench after the result was announced.

Labour leader Ed Miliband told her afterwards: "I know that you have thought long and hard about this. I respect and accept your resignation."

Ian McKenzie, the Labour MP for Inverclyde, was sacked as a parliamentary aide to Shadow Defence Secretary Vernon Coaker for voting against military action.

Britain has six Tornado GR4 fighter bombers in Cyprus ready to strike northern Iraq, a figure which Cabinet minister Kenneth Clarke said would make the UK's military contribution "almost symbolic".

The planes, which have been in RAF Akrotiri for the past six weeks carrying out surveillance missions in the Middle East, could begin airstrikes over the weekend.

Labour MP Rushanara Ali immediately resigned after the result was announced

Defence Minister Michael Fallon told Sky News: "You're not going to see immediate military action - a wave of shock and awe or anything like that ... not tonight no, absolutely not.

"We have to select our targets in accordance with the American and international effort that's going on in Iraq.

"There's fighting around these towns - we have to fit in to the day-to-day fighting and see where we can help best."

It came as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said US-led airstrikes had already worsened a dire humanitarian crisis in Iraq and Syria.

Mr Cameron told the Commons debate that Islamist militants "have already murdered one British hostage" and are "threatening the lives of two more".

He described IS, which has invaded large areas of Syria and Iraq, as "a terrorist organisation unlike those we have dealt with before".

He said: "The brutality is staggering - beheadings, crucifixions, the gouging out of eyes, the use of rape as a weapon, the slaughter of children. All of these things belong to the dark ages."

During the six-and-a-half-hour debate, Mr Miliband said he understood the deep unease about taking military action, but said the UK could not stand by in the face of the threat from IS, also known as ISIL.

An RAF Tornado GR4 carrying Storm Shadow missiles

"ISIL is not simply a murderous organisation; it has ambitions for a state of its own - a caliphate across the Middle East, run according to their horrific norms and values," he said.

But in a typically firebrand intervention, outspoken Respect MP George Galloway said bombing would not work, and stressed the need to strengthen ground forces in the region.

He said: "ISIL is a death cult, it's a gang of terrorist murderers. It's not an army and it's certainly not an army that's going to be destroyed by aerial bombardment."

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, backed UK airstrikes, telling the House of Lords: "The action proposed today is right."

But he warned "we must not rely on a short-term solution" and a wider effort was needed to turn extremists away from the "evil of ISIL".

On Thursday, the Cabinet unanimously backed military action against IS, which could last up to three years.

The PM was desperate to avoid the embarrassment of the Commons defeat on Syria airstrikes last year, and tabled a cautiously-worded motion intended to win support from all parties for action in Iraq.

Overnight, the US continued to hit suspected IS positions in Syria for a fifth consecutive day of attacks.

The Pentagon said the raids had disrupted lucrative oil-pumping operations that have helped fund IS militants, but that a final victory would need an on-the-ground campaign.

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Iraq: Islamic State Threat Is World's Problem

Iraq's deputy prime minister has told Sky News that it is the "duty of the world" to stand up against Islamic State extremists.

Saleh al Mutlaq also said he welcomed the UK parliament's decision to back airstrikes against the militants in his country.

He said that IS was "not just the problem of Iraq. It is the problem of all countries".

"Outsiders" from nations including Britain, Australia and the Emirate countries were fighting for IS and the coalition aerial raids should target militias as well as the jihadist group, he claimed.

Mr al Mutlaq said: "It is an invitation for every country which can participate in this coalition to do what they can in order to get rid of IS forever.

"Iraq is now fighting on behalf of the world."

More follows...

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Fathers Of Iraq War Dead Split Over Raids

By David Bowden, Senior Correspondent

Few are better equipped to have an opinion on the wisdom or otherwise of sending British troops into action again in Iraq, than John Miller and John Hyde.

Both lost a son during the last Iraq war.

Both live with the consequences every day, trying to find answers, trying to stay strong for their families and particularly their wives, Marilyn and Sandra, who struggle, even now with losing their boys.

Corporal Simon Miller, 21, and Lance Corporal Ben Hyde, 23, were two of the six Red Caps, Royal Military Police, brutally killed by an angry mob in Majar al Kabir in southern Iraq on 24 June 2003.

Despite sharing such devastating losses in the fight to topple Saddam Hussein more than a decade ago, the two Johns have opposing views today on whether UK forces should intervene once again in the fate of Iraq.

Sitting in his spotless kitchen in Washington, Tyne and Wear, watched over by a poster-sized photograph of his fallen son, John Miller told me RAF airstrikes would only "fuel the fire" of extremists planning terrorist atrocities.

John Miller fears further military action in Iraq could fuel extremism

He says the UK and America should leave Arab states to take the lead on military intervention.

"We look at how the Arab world sees the Western world, particularly Britain and America, over what happened in Iraq and it's only fuelling the fire. It's a recruiting programme.

"The securest thing for our countries would be not to be involved and it will not give them any reason to want to commit a terrorist attack in our country."

Mr Miller believes we have already opened what he calls "Pandora's box" in the Middle East and we will never be able to close it again.

He fears his son Simon and all those other British soldiers who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan may have died in vain.

The UK could join US airstrikes as soon as this weekend

Islamic State and their brothers in arms, he says, are the consequence of the West's folly and further involvement will bring further UK casualties.

"I for one do not want to see another coffin draped in the Union Jack coming back to Brize Norton (RAF Airforce base), somebody else's family ruined for the rest of their lives for something we can't and never will be able to solve."

An hour down the road in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, John Hyde is more measured in his assessment of the prospect of UK airstrikes.

He speaks quietly because his wife Sandra has already gone to bed. It's only 8.30pm , but she finds any media discussion of Ben too harrowing to face.

He is in favour of any assistance the UK can offer in Iraq with the exception of "boots on the ground".

"Anything short of that we should give," he says.

John Hyde thinks the UK should provide Iraq with all the support it can

"Training troops, advice, air support, anything we can give, because in the end the outcome must be positive.

"It's an international problem and I think it is something the international community should solve."

Mr Hyde channels much of his energy into running a memorial trust in honour of Ben, which has so far raised more than £100,000.

He often doesn't go to bed until 4am because he's working on his computer.

The screensaver - a picture of his dead son in his dress uniform.

There is no shortage of other memorabilia too; a sequence of pictures of Ben as a young boy, a commemorative certificate signed by the Queen and even a small wooden box with a brass plaque containing Ben's DNA, which had been held by the Ministry of Defence.

The Millers' home also proudly displays mementos of their son, Simon, who died for Queen and Country and who fills their thoughts every single day.

The Millers and the Hydes are just two of the hundreds of families of fallen soldiers who have given their lives fighting Britain's wars in the past decade.

Doubtless every single one of them will have their own views on whether more UK forces should put themselves in harm's way this time around.

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UK Can't Stand By On IS Murder, Says Hammond

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Britain cannot stand by and allow Islamic State extremists to murder thousands of people, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has told Sky News ahead of a crucial vote by MPs on airstrikes.

He insisted raids by RAF planes would be based on intelligence to minimise civilian casualties and "target the bad guys".

He was speaking as David Cameron was poised to win support from MPs for airstrikes in Iraq which senior ministers have warned could last up to three years.

Asked on Sky News over the implications for UK hostages held by IS of military action, Mr Hammond said he understood the anguish of the families, but added: "We have seen how ISIL behaves. We have seen of what they are capable of doing."

David Cameron says airstrikes will only target Iraq, not Syria

He went on: "We cannot stand by as they murder thousands of people and displace millions of people.

"We have to respond to that challenge."

He also said future airstrikes in Syria were possible, but that would require a further vote by MPs.

Operations could begin within hours of a vote in the Commons which is expected to be overwhelmingly in favour of bombing raids.

The UK strikes would follow raids by US planes in Syria and Iraq

Desperate to avoid a repeat of the Commons defeat over airstrikes against Syria last year, the PM is proposing a cautiously-worded motion intended to win support from all parties.

"This motion does not endorse UK airstrikes in Syria as part of this campaign, and any proposal to do so would be subject to a separate vote in Parliament," it states.

And it adds: "Her Majesty's Government will not deploy UK troops in ground combat operations."

Mr Cameron goes into the debate with an opinion poll suggesting voters strongly back airstrikes in Iraq, but would also support attacks against Syria.

A YouGov survey for The Sun shows the largest support yet for RAF airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq, with 57% now in favour and just 24% against.

But it also suggests voters support bombing raids against IS in Syria by 51% to 26%, even though Mr Cameron has already ruled this out for now.

The poll findings are a complete turnaround from 13 months ago, when voters opposed airstrikes on Syria's President Bashar al Assad by two-to-one.

The Cabinet met for 90 minutes yesterday and "unanimously" backed airstrikes in Iraq.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon suggested the campaign against IS could be a "long haul" of "two to three years".

"But we have to face up to this. This kind of extremism has been spreading, taking root in democracies," he told Parliament's House magazine.

After the Cabinet meeting, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the Government was confident Parliament would approve the Government's motion and stressed that Britain's role would currently be limited to airstrikes in Iraq.

"There will be a ground operation. It's just that we will not be providing ground combat troops," Mr Hammond said.

"If we were to put large numbers of Western troops into Iraq now that would simply feed ISIL's narrative.

"If ground forces are needed they have to come from regional countries - primarily from Iraq itself."

Asked whether the action could be extended into Syria at a later stage, Mr Hammond replied: "We haven't ruled out anything for the future."

Although the Labour leader Ed Miliband has said his MPs will support the Government in the vote, some anti-war left-wing MPs are expected to oppose military action.

On the eve of the debate, left-wing Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn handed in a petition at 10 Downing Street opposing bombing raids.

But some Conservative MPs want the Government to go further and deploy raids on Syria and commit troops.

Former defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth said: "If you don't attack their bases in Syria, then clearly you are not addressing it.

"One will be left with the taste in the mouth that we are leaving it to the Americans to do the dirty end of the job."

:: The Commons debate will begin at 10.30am with the vote expected at around 5pm. Watch on Sky News Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

:: Live coverage will also available on sky.com/news and Sky News for iPad and on your mobile phone.

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UK To Strike Iraq - But Is Syria The Real Target?

This week in New York has given David Cameron what he's needed. A platform and a justification to bring British airpower to the fight against the Islamic State.

There was palpable relief in the delegation travelling with the Prime Minister when I interviewed him earlier. Britain can now play a more aggressive role in the coalition its special relationship partner is building.

And the Prime Minister seems confident he will not suffer another embarrassing debacle in parliament. Ed Miliband has much to lose if he opposes him. But there is an inconsistency in Britain's role and clear limits on its intervention.

In his speech to the UN General Assembly David Cameron spoke of specific atrocities IS has carried out in Syria, the slaughter of 700 tribesmen for instance in the east of the country, and he talked of the dangers of inaction.

But Britain will not be striking IS in Syria. It will only target the organisation in Iraq. What remains to be hit there and remains exposed for further airstrikes is not clear. 

IS strongholds are in Syria and any effort to destroy it, the clear endgame for both the US and UK, will require attacking it there.

The Prime Minister is not confident about either the legality of airstrikes in Syria or the chances of persuading MPs to support the idea.

So if the Prime Minister is able to win support for intervention on Friday, which seems likely, Britain joins the air campaign late and in a limited role.

Any expansion of that across the border into Syria will need another debate in parliament. The Prime Minister's adamant about that.

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PM: 'Whole World Must Unite Against IS Evil'

Islamic State has "murderous plans" to expand and carry out terrorist atrocities across the world, David Cameron has warned.

Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, the Prime Minister said the militant group's rapid advance could be tackled with help from Iran and an end to Bashar al Assad's regime in Syria.

Mr Cameron was speaking ahead of an emergency debate in Parliament on Friday where he is expected to win cross-party support for airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Iraq.

MPs will vote on whether RAF planes should join the US, France and five Arab states in bombing IS positions, possibly by the weekend.

The PM asked for support from Iran's President Hassan Rouhani

Mr Cameron also called a Cabinet meeting on Thursday to discuss action against IS.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats pledged their support after a formal request for assistance from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi put potential UK involvement on a legal footing.

The Prime Minister insisted Britain had learned from "past mistakes" in Afghanistan and Iraq, but they would not become an excuse for inaction.

"Isil (Islamic State) is not a problem restricted to just one region. It has murderous plans to expand its borders well beyond Iraq and Syria and to carry out terrorist atrocities right across the world," he said.

US-Arab airstrikes are continuing against IS targets in Syria

"It is recruiting new fighters from all over the world. Five hundred have gone there from Britain and one of them almost certainly brutally murdered two American journalists and a British aid worker.

"We should learn the lessons of the past. But we have to learn the right lessons. Yes to careful preparation; no to rushing to join a conflict without a clear plan.

"But we must not be so frozen with fear that we don't do anything at all."

During an historic meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier, Mr Cameron extended an invitation to Iran to join the fight against IS.

"We have severe disagreements," he said. "Iran's support for terrorist organisations, its nuclear programme, its treatment of its people; all these need to change.

Iraq's PM Haider al Abadi has requested UK assitance to defeat IS

"But Iran's leaders could help in defeating the threat from Isil. They could help secure a more stable, inclusive Iraq; and a more stable, inclusive Syria."

The Prime Minister added that an end to Bashar al Assad's regime in Syria was key to defeating the militant group.

"The failure to meet people's aspirations can create a breeding ground where extremist and even terrorist insurgency can take root," he said.

"In Syria, it must mean a political transition and an end to Assad's brutality. I know there are some who think that we should do a deal with Assad in order to defeat ISIL.

"But this view is dangerously misguided. Our enemies' enemy is not our friend. It is another enemy. Doing a deal with Assad will not defeat ISIL."

The PM was speaking as the US and an Arab alliance launched a fresh wave of airstrikes against strategic IS targets in Syria.

The attacks resulted in the death of a 19-year-old British insurgent from Brighton who was reportedly fighting alongside Islamist group Jabhat al Nusra against the Syrian regime.

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Families Living In Fear In IS-Controlled Raqqa

By Jason Farrell, Sky Correspondent

Children in Syria are being taken from their families to be trained as Islamic State fighters and used as informants, according to a civilian who fled the city of Raqqa.

Former student Abu Abrahim Raqqawi gave Sky News a chilling account of life inside the IS-controlled city where he claimed children are being indoctrinated to become jihadists.

Abu, whose name has been changed, is able to talk because he was smuggled out of Raqqa two weeks ago but remains in regular contact with more than a dozen other underground activists in the city.

Abu Abrahim says there is no education for children in Raqqa

"They (IS) say to the young people, those between 16 and 18, 'Okay, we will give you money if you say who are talking about us or are saying something bad about us'.

"There is a camp for under-16 children. They took a lot of children without their families knowing, and it's very bad. It's just a special camp for young people. They make them like a bomb; a time bomb."

The US launched airstrikes against IS targets in Syria on Tuesday and Abu Abrahim said IS members in the city were killed after rockets struck their communications hub and a hospital used exclusively by the militants.

The US has launched airstrikes against IS targets in Syria

But there are mixed feelings about the Western military intervention.

Abu Abrahim said: "There is anger because the city is being destroyed but some accept they have to do a deal with the devil to get rid of IS.

"But others feel if the US cared about the people here, Obama would have acted when President Assad crossed the red line."

Here he is referring to the Syrian leader's alleged use of chemical weapons last year.

Several Syrian cities and IS strongholds were targetted in the attack

"There are a lot of executions, secret executions and public executions, especially after the Friday sermons - crucifying, beheading and things like that," he said.

He provided images to back this up; some showed children watching the gruesome events.

"There are no hospitals inside the city of Raqqa now. When there is an airstrike (previously from President Assad's forces) wounded people are taken to small hospitals in houses without any equipment," he said.

"They're dying in the street. ISIS have their own hospitals that do not allow citizens to go in."

The group have made rapid advances across swathes of Iraq and Syria

Abu Abrahim says there is no education in the city and some families are struggling to find food.

He claims IS fighters have also seized people's homes to house foreign fighters, but the biggest problem is access to medicine and hospital treatment.

His friends have been filming and taking photographs - posting images on a Facebook page called "Raqqa Is Being Silently Slaughtered".

One of the group was killed by IS when his activities were discovered. Despite being tortured, he didn't release the names of the others.

IS has ousted the Free Syrian Army from Raqqa - the original resistance movement to the Syrian leader Bashar al Assad is much diminished by the terrorist group across Syria.

Abu Abrahim said: "I think if the West wants to do something to kick ISIS out from Syria, they must bomb the Assad regime. If the Assad regime gets bombed and down, then easily the ISIS regime will get out of Syria because the FSA and all the fighters will just fight ISIS and not both ISIS and Assad."

IS fighters proclaim Raqqa is a paradise, but Abu says normal civilians are struggling for survival - that life in a terrorist-controlled city is one of fear, and lives are being risked to tell the real story of the city.

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