British drone strikes have killed 305 ISIS targets in the last year without causing ANY civilian casualties
- RAF drones have carried out hundreds of strikes over Iraq over past year
- 'To date there have been no known cases of civilian casualties,' MoD said
- RAF jets, drones carried out at least 17 strikes in Iraq since Paris attacks
- David Cameron today urged MPs to back airstrikes against ISIS in Syria
- See full news coverage of ISIS at www.dailymail.co.uk/isis
British drones have killed around 305 ISIS fighters in Iraq over the past year without harming any civilians, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed.
RAF Reaper drones have carried out more than 200 strikes over Iraq as part of Operation Shader since November 2014.
The 305 kills do not include British extremists Reyaad Khan, 21, from Cardiff, and Aberdeen schoolboy Ruhul Amin, who were killed in a secret drone strike on Syria in August.
Attacks: RAF drones (file photo) have killed around 305 ISIS militants in Iraq over the past year, the Ministry of Defence has revealed
Destroyed: RAF Reaper drones have carried out more than 100 strikes over Iraq since November 2014 (file photo of RAF jet strike on ISIS target in Iraq)
The combatants killed in at least 17 attacks by British jets and drones since the deadly Paris attacks on November 13 were also omitted from the death toll.
The RAF drones have carried out 227 strikes on Iraq as of October 30, according to MoD figures obtained by International Business Times. Some 800 military personnel have been part of the mission.
Responding to an Freedom of Information request, the MoD said: 'To date there have been no known cases of civilian casualties resulting from UK strikes in Iraq.'
The RAF claims on its website that Reaper drones' weapons 'are all precision guided, and every effort is made to ensure the risk of collateral damage and civilian casualties is minimised'.
It adds: 'This may include deciding not to release a weapon. UK Reaper is not an autonomous system and does not have the capability to employ weapons unless it is commanded to do so by the flight crew.'
RAF began striking targets in Iraq on September 30, 2014, with Tornado GR4 jets. MQ-9 unmanned Reaper drones joined the attack in November.
In January, Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK had conducted 100 airstrikes on ISIS targets in Iraq.
He today appealed for MPs to back British airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, asking: 'If not now, when?'
Offensive: The RAF claims on its website that Reaper drones' weapons 'are all precision guided, and every effort is made to ensure the risk of collateral damage and civilian casualties is minimised (file photo of RAF jet attacking ISIS pick up truck)
Escalation: Prime Minister David Cameron today appealed for MPs to back British airstrikes against ISIS in Syria (file photo of RAF jets returning to base after mission over Iraq)
Addressing concerns that airstrikes over Syria would put Britain at risk of a Paris style terror attack, he said the UK was already was 'in the top tier of countries that ISIL [ISIS] is targeting'.
He added: 'The military advice and diplomatic advice and the security advice all says that the risks of inaction are greater.'
He said the UK could not afford to 'stand aside' from the fight and it was 'morally' unacceptable to heap the burden on the United States, France and other allies.
He also said there was a strong legal justification for extending military action in Iraq on the ground of self defence.
He admitted ISIS could not be defeated by airstrikes alone but said they would be part of a wider 'comprehensive' strategy to destroy the terror group.
The RAF appears to have stepped up its attacks on ISIS in Iraq since 130 people were killed in the horrendous Paris attacks almost two weeks ago.
British warplanes carried out 17 strikes in ten days after the terror attacks. They had been striking one target a day on average over the past year.
Extraordinary footage emerged on Monday showing an ISIS sniper being destroyed by a laser guided Paveway missile fired by a British Tornado jet.
Stepped up: British warplanes carried out 17 strikes in ten days after the Paris attacks on November 13 (file photo of British jets being armed with the Paveway missiles)
On Sunday, November 15, 36 hours after the Paris attack, an RAF drone destroyed a terrorist car in northern Iraq.
The reaper drone then crossed into Syria to carry out a surveillance mission supporting French airstrikes on the terror group's de facto capital, Raqqa.
Last Tuesday, Tornado GR4 jets supported Iraqi ground troops as they closed in on the ISIS held city of Ramadi, near Baghdad.
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