British army soldiers from 2nd Battalion Yorkshire regiment are deployed Iraq to fight IS militants

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Defence & Security News - United Kingdom

 
 
Monday, August 18, 2014 09:18 AM
 
British army soldiers from 2nd Battalion Yorkshire regiment are deployed in Iraq to fight IS militants.
British Army soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire regiment were sent to Irbil, as RAF aircraft continued reconnaissance missions to help the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants. They were in the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region for 24 hours to prepare the ground for a possible rescue operation by Chinook helicopters.
     
British Army soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire regiment were sent to Irbil, as RAF aircraft continued reconnaissance missions to help the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants. They were in the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region for 24 hours to prepare the ground for a possible rescue operation by Chinook helicopters.
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment during a military parade.
     
The 2nd Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment is a light role infantry battalion based in Cyprus and is the Theatre Reserve Battalion (TRB). It is equipped with a range of small arms and support weapons, and is at high readiness to move rapidly anywhere in the region. It is equipped with the full range of small arms and support weapons and its soldiers trained to the highest levels to fight on their feet and move by helicopter. They are experts in dismounted close combat.

Britain is stepping up its military involvement in the fight against jihadi forces from the Islamic State in Iraq after the defence secretary Michael Fallon confirmed that British warplanes are flying deeper into Iraq in a mission that could last "months".

As David Cameron declared that Britain should be prepared to deploy its "military prowess" to help defeat the jihadis, Fallon said that Britain's involvement in Iraq is fast expanding beyond the initial humanitarian mission to relieve Yazidi refugees besieged on Mount Sinjar.

The UK move came as the US announced its most concerted bombing campaign yet over northern Iraq to drive Isis forces back, helping Kurdish forces to reclaim Mosul dam.

American warplanes and drones carried out more than 20 strikes at the weekend near the crucial dam that Isis forces took earlier this month. More than a dozen Isis vehicles were destroyed, the Pentagon said. The bombing is designed to help Kurdish forces regain the initiative in fighting for territory in northern Iraq that Isis has seized over the past three months.

Britain was encouraged by the progress over the weekend though Downing Street believes that the US, the Kurds and forces of the Iraqi state face a lengthy battle to defeat the Isis jihadis.

British intelligence is shared directly with the US military, which has been conducting air strikes against Islamic State positions for the past 10 days.