The UK is expanding its air surveillance operation over northern Iraq, the Defence Secretary has announced.
The RAF's most advanced intelligence gathering aircraft has been deployed to boost a team of Tornado jets already gathering intelligence as Kurdish forces battle against Islamist militants in the region .
Information picked up by British forces is being fed back to the Iraqi government, Kurdish fighters and US forces in the region as they try to stem the tide of the Islamic State (IS) advance.
Announcing the decision at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "We will continue the humanitarian mission here and we will continue to make sure we will do everything we can to assist with the refugee problem which is wider than the Sinjar mountains."
He added: "I can confirm today we have deployed Rivet Joint, our very latest surveillance aircraft, the successor to Nimrod, to give us a much better picture, more intelligence and analysis of what is happening on the ground which will help the Iraqi government, the Kurdish forces and the Americans."
Mr Fallon was visiting the Cyprus base for the RAF's aid drop operation.
He spent time with the teams packing and dispatching the aid bundles and told the Army and RAF personnel involved: "This mission isn't over yet."
RAF Tornado jets have been flying missions over vast areas in northern Iraq, aided by larger Voyager planes that help them refuel at 300mph.
Britain has also been delivering aid to help families fleeing the militants - the latest supplies of vital cooking equipment, needed by people forced to leave their homes suddenly.
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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-expands-iraq-air-surveillance-operation-072416194.html
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