UK jets strike Omar field again
Syria
LONDON, December 7, 2015 – UK fighter jets made a second round of strikes on oilfields controlled by Islamic State (IS) militants on Friday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defence on Saturday.
The strikes destroyed wellheads in the Omar field in eastern Syria. The illegal sale by IS militants of output from the Omar field represents 10 percent of the group’s oil income, according to the Ministry of Defence.
UK Defence Minister Michael Fallon told SkyNews during a visit to the Royal Air Force Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus, from where the Tornado aircraft took off, that the strikes would reduce the terrorist group’s ability to resupply and reinforce over in Iraq and cut off its sources of revenue.
UK members of parliament backed attacks on IS militants in Syria in a parliamentary vote on Thursday, with fighter jets striking the Omar oilfield the next day.
Information and analysis company IHS estimates that IS militants currently control daily production capacity of around 350,000 barrels of oil, but is only able to produce between 50,000 and 60,000 barrels.
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