UK carries out new strike against Islamic State oilfields

Fight against jihadists will not be ‘either short or simple,’ says Britain’s defense minister Michael Fallon

LONDON — Britain’s defense minister says UK fighter jets have targeted a Syrian oilfield during a second combat operation against the Islamic State group.

Michael Fallon says the four jets from the British base in Cyprus bombed wellheads at the Omar oilfield in eastern Syria. Late Friday’s operation, which aimed to cut off the militants’ oil revenues, followed a similar strike the day before.

The bombing began hours after British lawmakers voted Wednesday to expand Britain’s air campaign against IS in Iraq to Syria.

Fallon told military personnel in Cyprus: “We are going to use force against them in the headquarters, their command and control, their logistics, but also in the infrastructure that supports them.”

He says the fight against IS will not be “either short or simple.”

British Defense Minister Michael Fallon talks to British pilots and soldiers at RAF Akrotiri, a British air base near the coastal city of Limassol, Cyprus, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Pavlos Vrionides)