Female Top Gun Leads UK's First Iraq Combat Mission: As Britain Goes To War For First Time In Six Years, Two Tornado Jets Take Off For Secret Sortie Over Jihadi Held Territory... But Drop No Bombs -- Daily Mail

* Unnamed officer flew from RAF base in Cyprus on the highly dangerous sortie over IS-held territory in Northern Iraq
* The sortie, lasting several hours, was the first mission for the RAF’s Operation Shader against IS militants
* Pair of Tornado GR4 jets flew in support of Iraqi troops engaging IS terrorists in trench warfare below
* But defence sources conceded last night that neither of the Tornados engaged the enemy
* Both jets returned to RAF Akrotiri with their full payloads of rockets and ammunition intact
* Americans continued their heavy bombardment of key IS strongholds around the city of Raqqa, in Northern Syria
* It is believed British hostages Alan Henning and John Cantlie are being held there under threat of decapitation

A female fighter pilot yesterday led Britain’s first combat mission against Islamic State – as the RAF launched two waves of attack against the deadly terrorists.

The unnamed officer piloted one of two heavily-armed jets that flew from a top-security RAF base in Cyprus on the dangerous sortie over IS-held territory in Northern Iraq, before returning safely to complete her 2,000-mile round trip.

The sortie, lasting several hours, was the first mission for the RAF’s Operation Shader against IS militants. And last night two more Tornado GR4 aircraft took off from the Cyprus base, bound for Northern Iraq.

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More News On Britain Conducting It's First Air operations Over The Islamic State

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Britain launches fighter jets against Isis forces in Iraq -- The Guardian
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British fighter jets fly over Iraq, ready to strike -- Euronews
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