An RAF drone blitzed ISIS terrorists trying to set up a new lair in Iraq.
The unmanned Reaper aircraft deployed on Operation Shader unleashed a barrage of Hellfire missiles after Iraqi security forces spotted an Islamic State unit “attempting to re-establish a presence in an area to the north of Tikrit”, the Ministry of Defence revealed.
Other warplanes from the alliance of Western forces targeting ISIS were also involved.
The MoD said the MQ-9A British Reaper, “at an appropriate opportunity, when the terrorists were exposed in the open away from any civilians, conducted a successful attack alongside the other coalition aircraft”.
It said the “terrorists (were) eliminated before they could mount an active threat to the Iraqi people”.
The 288mph Reaper is piloted remotely by a three-man crew who can be based thousands of miles away.
When armed with its four air-to-ground 114 Hellfire missiles, it can stay airborne at 30,000ft for more than 12 hours collecting intelligence and targeting enemies.
The June 14 bombing raid, which has only just been revealed, came as ISIS extremists bid to return to former strongholds of their caliphate across Iraq and Syria.
It comes after two people were killed and four injured yesterday after jihadists planted roadside bombs at two locations in northern and central Iraq.
In May, six rockets were fired at an oil refinery in Kurdistan causing "minor damage" in a non-claimed attack widely blamed on ISIS.
In Afghanistan ISIS attacks have increased since the Taliban seized control following America's departure.
An attack by an affiliated group last month at a Sikh temple killed two people and was said to be "revenge" for insults made against the Prophet Mohammed by members of India's ruling party.
