Britain joined the US-led campaign against Isis in August 2014, with the first Tornado jets deployed from an RAF base in Cyprus to support cargo.
Now the RAF are ready to withdraw as Isis battle enters endgame.Britain’s air war against Islamic State is set to wind down next year, with commanders looking at bringing Royal Air Force fast jets home from March, a senior officer said yesterday.
Air Commodore Johnny Stringer, who led the British air campaign against the terrorist group until last month, said that drones and other surveillance aircraft would continue to fly over Iraq and Syria to help local forces guard against the militants returning.
The fall of the Islamic State hubs of Mosul in northern Iraq and Raqqa in Syria meant that coalition forces were in the endgame, he said.