RAF planes back US raids in Iraq

British Tornadoes flew alongside US planes and helicopters

Royal Air Force warplanes have been called into action in Iraq alongside American forces fighting close to the Syrian border.

The British GR4 Tornadoes were supporting a US operation against insurgents, the American military said.

However earlier reports that the planes fired missiles and dropped bombs on a building have been denied by the MoD.

Around 1,000 US troops are targeting insurgent hide-outs in the offensive, known as Operation Spear.

The operation has seen heavy fighting in Karabila and other areas around the city of Qaim, in north-western Iraq's Anbar province, correspondents say.

Reports quoting the US military had said the Tornadoes fired laser-guided missiles, but an MoD spokesman said that was not true.

He said the planes "loitered in the air" while the US forces conducted their offensive on a district in Karabila.

"They didn't engage any enemy, they didn't fire anything and they didn't drop anything," he said.

"They were there in support of the US operation and although they could have engaged if they'd wanted to, they didn't have to."

He added that the planes used were part of coalition forces headquartered in Baghdad, not in southern Iraq where the rest of British forces are based.

'Bomb factory'

Vehicles and buildings in Karabila were bombed by the US in the offensive.

The US military said a car bomb factory, Iraqi hostages and a house where captives were tortured had been found in the raids.

Reports from the city said around 100 people waving white flags emerged from areas in the city's north after a US warning over a loudspeaker that an assault on the district was imminent.

On Saturday, the US military said 50 insurgents had been killed as a result of the operation. A statement attributed to the al-Qaeda group in Iraq said no insurgents had been killed.

Another offensive, known as Operation Dagger, was also under way closer to Baghdad involving US and Iraqi troops.