Operation Shader

Operation Shader
Part of the Military intervention against ISIL
in Iraq, and Syria and Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War

A Typhoon FGR4 flies over Iraq on 22 December 2015.
Date9 August 2014 – present
(10 years, 3 months and 1 day)[1]
Location
Iraq, Syria, Libya, & Lebanon[2][3]
Status

Ongoing

  • British airstrikes and ground support against ISIL in Iraq and Syria
  • Recapture of all ISIL-held territory in Iraq by 10 December 2017[4]
  • Complete military defeat of ISIL in Syria on 23 March 2019
  • Numerous ISIL leaders killed
  • Multiple terrorist acts committed by ISIL in London and Manchester leading to 34 deaths
Belligerents
 United Kingdom Islamic State
Commanders and leaders
Former
 Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (Leader of IS)
Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi †
Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi †
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi †[5]
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi †[6]
Islamic State Abu Alaa Afri †[7]
Abu Suleiman al-Naser †
Abu Ali al-Anbari †
Abu Omar al-Shishani †
Units involved
 Royal Air Force
 British Army
 Royal Navy		 Military of ISIL
Strength
See Deployed forces
  • 9,000–18,000 (U.S. intelligence estimate, January 2015)[8]
  • 20,000–31,500 (CIA estimate, September 2014)[9]
    * 850 British jihadists[10]
Casualties and losses
3 servicemen killed (2 non-combat)[11][12][13]
2 servicemen wounded[14]
8 volunteer SDF fighters killed[15]
2 volunteer aid workers executed[16]
1 journalist missing[17]		 4,013 killed, 302 injured (per UK)[18]

Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the contribution of the United Kingdom in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The operation involves the British Army providing ground support and training to allied forces fighting against ISIL, the Royal Air Force providing humanitarian aid airdrops, reconnaissance and airstrikes, and the Royal Navy providing reconnaissance and airstrikes from the UK Carrier Strike group and escort to allied carrier battle groups.[19]

Additionally, UK Special Forces have reportedly operated in Iraq, Syria and Libya.[20]

By January 2019, the Ministry of Defence stated that 1,700 British airstrikes had killed or injured 4,315 enemy fighters in Iraq and Syria, with one civilian casualty.[21] The RAF had also delivered £230 million worth of humanitarian aid.[22] Overall, the operation had resulted in a net cost of £1.75 billion.[23] The number of airstrikes carried out in Iraq and Syria has been second only to the United States, with a report that the Royal Air Force has conducted 20 per cent of all airstrikes.[24][25] The operation is the most intense flying mission the RAF has undertaken in 25 years.[26]

On the 28th of September 2024 the Ministry of Defence announced that British jets will cease strike operations over Iraq and Syria following the conclusion of the Global Coalition’s military mission against Daesh, which will draw to a close over the next 12 months.[27]

  1. ^ "Six Years of Operation Shader". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Op Shader – A Year On". Ministry of Defence. 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference RAFLibya was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Islamic State completely 'evicted' from Iraq, Iraqi PM says". The Age. 10 December 2017.
  5. ^ "ISIS leader al-Qurayshi dies in suicide blast alongside six children in US raid". LBC. 3 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: IS leader 'killed in US operation' in Syria". BBC News. 27 October 2019.
  7. ^ Engel, Pamela (23 April 2015). "Report: A former physics teacher favored by Osama bin Laden is now leading ISIS". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  8. ^ Barbara Starr, U.S. officials say 6,000 ISIS fighters killed in battles, CNN (22 January 2015).
  9. ^ CIA says IS numbers underestimated, Al Jazeera (12 September 2014).
  10. ^ "Who are Britain's jihadists?". BBC News. 12 October 2017.
  11. ^ "L/Cpl Scott Hetherington: UK soldier died 'in shooting accident'". BBC News. 3 January 2017.
  12. ^ "British soldier Sgt Matt Tonroe 'killed by American friendly fire'". BBC. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Iraq: British soldier and two US troops killed in 'deplorable' rocket attack on base". Sky News. 12 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Two British special forces soldiers injured by Isis in Syria". The Guardian. 6 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Briton Anna Campbell killed fighting with Kurdish YPJ unit". BBC News. 19 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Jihadi John's victims: who were they?". The Telegraph. 13 November 2015.
  17. ^ "John Cantlie: plea for release of British Isis hostage five years after kidnap". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 23 November 2017.
  18. ^ "RAF killed '4,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria'". BBC News. 7 March 2019.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference hmsdefender was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference SFTunisia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ "RAF killed '4,000 enemies in Iraq, Syria'". BBC News. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Iraq crisis: UK humanitarian response factsheet". GOV.UK. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  23. ^ Cole, Chris. "Cost of UK Air and Drone Strikes in Iraq and Syria Reach £1.75 Billion." Drone Wars UK. 2 February 2019. Accessed 8 March 2019. https://dronewars.net/2018/02/26/cost-of-uk-air-and-drone-strikes-in-iraq-and-syria-reach-1-75-billion/.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference forces.net was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference UKTrainingTroops was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ "PM Tells UK Armed Forces They Are The 'Finest In The World' At The Millies". Forces News. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  27. ^ "UK response to the conclusion of the Global Coalition's military mission in Iraq". GOV.UK. Retrieved 11 October 2024.