Roundup: British Defense Minister visits RAF base in Cyprus

British Defense Minister Michael Fallon visited the RAF base at Akrotiri in Cyprus on Saturday, telling personnel engaged in attacks against the IS to prepare for long campaign.

Fallon told about 200 crew in an aircraft hangar that they were faced with a new kind of enemy that makes no demands, takes no hostages and does not want to negotiate.

"This campaign is not going to be short or simple," Fallon told them.

Fallon's unannounced visit to Akrotiri was preceded by a visit to Nicosia where he met Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades reviewing the air campaign in Syria and Iraq, in which 16 fighter bomber jets are engaged.

The jets are stationed at Britain's air base at Akrotiri, on the southern shores of Cyprus.

Though Akrotiri, along with a second base 85 kilometers to the east, is technically British soil, the British government regularly consults with Cypriot authorities when the base is used for operations in third countries in the region.

A spokesman for Anastasiades said Fallon briefed him on the ongoing operations by the UK against terrorism.

He added that Anastasiades and Fallon also exchanged views "on the broader cooperation between Cyprus and Britain on matters pertaining to security and dealing with asymmetric threats."

Anastasiades had similar talks with French President Francois Hollande when he visited the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle on Friday, using Cyprus as a springboard.

Britain sent six Eurofighter Typhoon jets and two Tornado fighter-bombers to Akrotiri on Thursday to beef up its air power of eight Tornados that have been hitting IS targets in Iraq.

Two Typhoons were deployed along with two Tornados for the first time on Saturday hitting IS targets in Syria, following a decision by British Parliament supporting attacks in Syria.

Fallon denied a suggestion that the military is avoiding strikes against IS personnel and rather concentrates on its infrastructure.

"We are going to use force against them in the headquarters, their command and control, their logistics, but also the infrastructure that supports them," said Fallon.

He told the aircraft crew inside a hangar that the British air force will from now on hit harder at IS after the expansion of air power at the base.

"You are now able to hit the Daesh on both sides of that border - Syria and Iraq," Fallon said, using the Arab acronym name for the IS. Endit