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Fallon reaffirms UK commitment to Counter-Daesh coalition

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to the Counter-Daesh coalition, in his first visit to the US since the forming of the new government.

So far UK forces have helped train 19,000 Iraqi troops to tackle Daesh and is set to increase its support with an additional 50 trainers to be deployed next month.

Speaking at the coalition meeting in Washington, Fallon announced that Kurdish Peshmerga had taken the first delivery of UK gifted machine gun and sniper ammunition. The total amount of extra ammunition for the Peshmerga is equal to £1.4 million and consists of 480,000 machine gun and 250,000 rounds of sniper ammunition.

Fallon also said that the UK is set to provide £1 million to NATO’s training mission inside Iraq, as Iraqi forces prepare to retake the city of Mosul.

Fallon also cited the achievements the MoD has secured since the coalition campaign began in 2014, which included: conducting over 900 air strikes in support of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and the Syrian moderate opposition; eight RAF Tornados, six RAF Typhoons, and RAF Reapers carrying out these strikes and also providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability; over 1,100 military personnel working to defeat Daesh; RAF Airseeker, Sentinel and Sentry aircraft providing crucial information, coordination and surveillance to UK and coalition partners; a RAF Voyager to provide air to air refuelling for RAF and coalition pilots; provided over 50 tonnes of non-lethal support, 40 heavy machine guns, nearly half a million rounds of ammunition and £600,000 worth of military equipment to the Kurdish Peshmerga; and confirmed the first delivery of Heavy Machine Gun ammunition and Sniper ammunition, with a combined value of £1.4 million.

Fallon commented: “From the battlefield to the airwaves, we are making progress against Daesh. We must now look at what more we can do to press home our advantage and defeat these terrorists.”

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