War on Isis: UK air strikes have killed nearly 1,000 jihadis in Iraq and Syria in 18 months, says MoD

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) say that they have killed almost 1,000 Islamic State (Isis) jihadists in their self-declared caliphate without harming a single civilian. According to the MoD air strikes in the last 18 months in Iraq and Syria have killed 974 "enemy combatants".

The figures were revealed in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request and cover the period from September 2014 to March 2016. The ministry adds that estimates are based on "post-strike analysis" and the UK was unable to verify the results first-hand as they had not visited the sites themselves.

In December 2015 the UK extended their air strikes from Iraq to neighbouring Syria where the RAF has killed 22 jihadists since air strikes began. And after stepping up their campaign in recent months 318 Daesh (Isis) fighters have been killed in the first three months of 2016 compared with 92 in the same period last year.

The strikes, made by Typhoon, Tornado fighter jets and reaper drones, were part of a wider coalition operation to target IS command and control sites, military positions and revenue streams such as oil infrastructure and banks.

A few days ago Operation Inherent Resolve, the US name for the operation in Iraq and Syria which is supported by UK and French air strikes, bombed 20 'jihadi banks' where Daesh (Isis) money was held destroying $800m (£550m) in cash.

IS has lost an estimated 22 per cent of its territory since the height of its powers in 2014. The loss of land has also led to a reduction in the number of citizens they control, from 9 million to 6 million, resulting in in less taxes being collected.

Despite the persistent strikes the MoD said no civilians have died in their response to the FOI made by Vice News. UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "We are making solid progress against Daesh. They've lost 40 per cent of their territory, their oil revenue has been cut by around a third, and they are sustaining heavy losses. Now we must push on and defeat them."

"Furthermore, the MoD also conducts an assessment after every British strike of the damage caused which includes checks to see whether there are likely to have been civilian casualties. Our records show that there were no of civilian casualties for the period in question," a statement from the ministry read.

The UK Parliament approved British participation in air strikes against the extremists' targets in Iraq in September 2014. The figures indicated that 98 IS fighters were injured in the past 18 months.