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Roundup: British Akrotiri air base ready for attacks on IS in Syria

Xinhua, December 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

A British air base on Cyprus is being readied to receive more planes and personnel ahead of a decision by British parliament to authorize attacks against Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria, sources familiar with activities at the base said Wednesday.

They said preparations were under way at the Akrotiri Royal Air Force (RAF) base on the southern shores of the eastern Mediterranean island to receive eight additional planes and up to 100 more personnel.

British Prime Minister David Cameron pleaded with lawmakers of both his party and the opposition on Wednesday to give the go-ahead to launch air strikes in Syria. A vote is expected at around 10:00 p.m. local time (2200 GMT).

Sources said two more Tornado GR4 and six Eurofighter Typhoon planes were waiting orders to take off from their air base in Britain for Akrotiri, situated at a strategic point in the eastern Mediterranean.

Eight Tornados have been operating against the IS in Iraq for the past two years.

Akrotiri air base is situated on a peninsula next to the southern port city of Limassol.

It has been one of the busiest bases of the British forces because of its strategic location near the flare up points of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Cyprus itself lies just about 100 km from Syria and the Akrotiri base has played a central logistics role in support of NATO and other Western-led operations from Libya to Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is also serving as an electronic surveillance hub.

As a former colonial ruler of Cyprus, Britain retained the base, along with a second one about 85 km to the east, when it granted independence to the island in 1960.

The sources said sorties against IS targets in Syria could start a short time after Britain's parliament grants approval to Cameron's proposal.

Cameron told lawmakers that strikes with high-precision laser-guided Brimstone missiles could make the difference in the campaign to drive the IS out of its stronghold Raqqa and destroy its oil-trading business which finances its wars.

The Cypriot government has given its consent for the strikes in Syria and has also approved Britain's offer of facilities to French planes attacking targets from its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.

Cypriot authorities have also tightened security to face possible retaliatory strikes by the IS on the island. Endit