Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will release details of each weapons release over Syria so that they can be correlated against any reports of civilian casualties.

Earl Howe

As at 18 December 2015, the UK had released 21 weapons against targets in Syria since the vote on airstrikes. There have been no reports of civilian casualties as a result.

The weapons have all been Paveway IV guided bombs from RAF Tornado GR4 and Typhoon aircraft. The UK released six Paveway IV on 2 December, one on 3 December, eight on 4 December and six on 6 December. These have all been against targets in the Daesh-controlled Omar oilfield in eastern Syria.

We will not release the exact location and timing of each strike as this could compromise our operational capabilities. All UK airstrikes are conducted in accordance with Rules of Engagement and International Humanitarian Law. Targets are selected with the utmost care; the risks of collateral damage or civilian casualties are assessed and mitigated based on intelligence and the use of precision guided weapons.