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UK Military Operations in Mosul and Raqqa inquiry

Inquiry

Since September 2014 the UK has been conducting military operations in Iraq, and later in Syria, against Daesh as part of an international coalition of 75 partners. The UK’s contribution, under Operation Shader, includes air operations in both countries, with the RAF having conducted over 1,700 airstrikes, and the training of local forces in Iraq.

The previous Defence Committee published a report on UK military operations in Syria and Iraq in September 2016. Since then Daesh has lost much of its territory, including the cities of Mosul and Raqqa, with the Coalition supporting local forces in the battles for the two cities.

The Committee is examining the effectiveness of UK military actions in helping Iraqi and Syrian partner forces recapture Mosul and Raqqa from Daesh, particularly from UK air operations. The Committee will consider the contribution of UK military operations and the challenges faced in each city’s recapture, how success has been measured and the lessons learnt.

For the purposes of transparency, we ask those submitting evidence on behalf of an organisation to include in their written submission a brief description of their organisation, including its role, membership and any sources of funding that might be reasonably considered to represent a relevant interest in relation to the subject of this inquiry. Declaring a relevant interest of this sort will not necessarily prevent an organisation from being invited to give oral evidence to the Committee.