British warplanes launched their first airstrikes at Islamic State targets in Iraq yesterday as the air campaign against the jihadists intensified.
Two Tornados dropped a precision-guided bomb and fired a missile in support of Kurdish forces who are fighting Islamist militants in the northwest of the country.
Separate airstrikes by the US-led coalition on another 19 Islamic State (Isis) targets across Syria and Iraq allowed Kurdish troops to register one of their most successful ground offensives of the campaign so far.
The attacks came as the wife of a British hostage held by the militants appealed again for his life. Barbara Henning, whose husband, Alan, 47, was captured by Isis while delivering aid nine months ago, told the BBC that she was “dreadfully concerned” for