British tornado fighters have taken off from an RAF airbase in Cyprus hours after British lawmakers voted in favor of airstrikes against ISIS strongholds in Syria.
The Ministry of Defence would not go into details but said the vote late Wednesday could mean “surveillance or operational missions over Syria.”
Lawmakers voted 397 in favor of action and 223 against, following a 10-hour debate.
After the November 13 terror attacks in Paris, France asked the U.S.-led coalition to bump up the military offensive against ISIS.
Now that Britain has decided to expand airstrikes that it previously conducted only in Iraq, the spotlight is on the German Parliament, which also is expected to approve greater military commitment against the terror group.
The German plan would activate 1,200 troops in anti-ISIS efforts, but in a support role -- not direct combat.
U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed the British move and said the coalition would work “to integrate them into our coalition air tasking orders as quickly as possible,” CNN reports.
-Agencies
