In the early hours of Thursday morning, the UK launched its first air strikes against Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
Although these were the UK’s first strikes against IS in Syria, the United States, France and Russia have been carrying out a campaign against the extremists in both Iraq and Syria for some time – resulting in a combined total of 8,573 against the group.
“We are going to need to be patient and persistent. This is going to take time. It is complex, it is difficult what we are asking our pilots to do, and our thoughts should be with them and their families,” said the Prime Minister.