Full-scale operation to start in a 'matter of weeks', says Sir Michael

Government believe the terror group could be out of Iraq in just months

British RAF jets have started pounding ISIS into submission as the Defence Secretary announced the terror group is 'on the cusp' of being driven out of Iraq.

Michael Fallon, secretary of state for defence, said the coalition was close to taking ISIS' last major stronghold in the country and the militants could be pushed out in months.

He said: 'There is no doubt now that Daesh is facing defeat. Indeed we are on the cusp of liberating the last major city it holds in Iraq – Mosul.'

British RAF jets have started pounding ISIS into submission as the Defence Secretary announced the terror group is 'on the cusp' of being driven out of Iraq

Michael Fallon, secretary of state for defence, said the coalition was close to taking ISIS' last major stronghold in the country and the militants could be pushed out in months

Sir Michael said: 'There is no doubt now that Daesh is facing defeat. Indeed we are on the cusp of liberating the last major city it holds in Iraq – Mosul.'

Tornado aircraft refuels from a tanker aircraft during a mission over central Iraq

British Tornado and Typhoon aircraft stationed at a U.K. air base in Cyprus are pounding Islamic State targets ahead of a major offensive by Iraqi security forces next month to recapture the key northern city of Mosul from IS militants

The secretary of state said the operation would begin 'in the next few weeks

'We ought to be able to get Daesh out of Iraq over the next few months - the remaining months of this year and next year,' said Michael Fallon

Coalition defence ministers will meet next month to discuss how to deal with the estimated 8,000 foreign nationals fighting with IS - including around 400 UK nationals - some of whom are expected to try to return to Europe

Sir Michael said the extremists could be driven out of Iraq in months, as he laid out plans to retake Mosul.

He said: 'We ought to be able to get Daesh out of Iraq over the next few months - the remaining months of this year and next year.'

Sir Michael, who has just returned from Iraq, said Iraqi government forces backed by the US-led coalition are 'on the cusp' of taking the last major stronghold in the country.

British Tornado and Typhoon aircraft stationed at a UK air base in Cyprus are pounding Islamic State targets ahead of a major offensive by Iraqi security forces next month to recapture the key northern city of Mosul from IS militants.

The secretary of state said the operation would begin 'in the next few weeks'.

RAF personnel expect the mission to begin mid-October.

Two years after the RAF began military operations against IS - also referred to as Daesh - he said UK warplanes were stepping up attacks on the militants' positions ahead of the offensive.

He said: 'There is no doubt now that Daesh is facing defeat. Indeed we are on the cusp of liberating the last major city it holds in Iraq – Mosul.

'The RAF is now operating at the highest tempo in a single theatre for over 25 years.

'Though Mosul is a large and complex city, it will fall and will fall soon'.

Coalition defence ministers will meet next month to discuss how to deal with the estimated 8,000 foreign nationals fighting with IS - including around 400 UK nationals - some of whom are expected to try to return to Europe, he said.

'The partners in the coalition are very clear that their nationals who have gone off to fight and may have been involved in barbaric crimes should not be allowed to slip through the net without facing justice,' he added.

'Having spoken to the commanders of the troops involved, their self-belief and determination is very clear.

Lieutenant General Mark Carleton-Smith, the deputy chief of the defence staff (operations), said coalition air strikes were keeping up the pressure on IS, destroying 'close to a billion dollars' in IS's illegally held 'cash stockpile'.

'We are disrupting Daesh command and control with targeted strikes that are restricting their freedom of movement and their logistic resupply,' he said.

Sir Michael acknowledged that the fall of Mosul would not mean the end of IS in Iraq, but said that it should be possible to drive them out of the country within the coming months.

'There remain pockets of Daesh resistance.

'However, we estimated at the beginning a three-year campaign. Two years on we have made significant progress. Daesh is a failing organisation,' he said.

'We ought to be able to get Daesh out of Iraq over the next few months - the remaining months of this year and next year.'

Air Cmdr Sampson added: 'We will militarily defeat Daesh in Syria and Iraq. I'm confident of that.'

Air Commodore Martin Sampson (pictured) warned that the militants had the capability to shoot the planes down

But militants are not taking the offensive lying down, and British warplanes have come under attack from Islamic State forces on the ground, the RAF commander leading the fight revealed last night.

Militants have fired surface to air missiles at RAF jets dropping bombs over Syria and Iraq.

Alarmingly, Air Commodore Martin Sampson warned that the militants had the capability to shoot the planes down.

His comments came as Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the coalition were 'on the cusp' of taking IS's last major stronghold in Iraq and the militants could be pushed out in months.

Speaking at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, two years after British jets were flown out to the base to join the air war, Air Cmdre Sampson said: 'When you put an enemy on the back foot and then squeeze them geographically they will find different ways to lash out.

'They try to shoot at our aeroplanes. When they do they expose themselves and invariably when they expose themselves we strike them.

'There have been many instances where the coalition has received surface to air fire. We have the ability to plot it with pinpoint precision and then we strike back.'

The Tornado GR4 jets and Typhoon fighter aircraft have been forced to defend themselves on multiple occasions over the past year, he said.

They have had to use flares to distract heat seeking missiles and evasive manoeuvring to escape from militants using shoulder-launched missiles and anti-aircraft artillery.

The revelation highlights the dangers to aircrew flying deadly missions over the war-ravaged region.

He said: 'Daesh have a whole bunch of capabilities.

British warplanes have come under attack from Islamic State forces on the ground, the RAF commander leading the fight revealed last night (file image)

'They have anti-aircraft artillery, they have handheld surface to air missiles.

'We are aware of their capabilities and we've got tactics and equipment that means that we're as safe as we possibly can be.'

He said that in response they used a variety of equipment and tactics, adding: 'We're constantly thinking about how they could counter it.

'We understand the environment, this is what we do. We never assume that you can use air power in a benign environment.

'It's not always totally contested but there is always the possibility that the piece of air that you are flying through could be contested. It might be contested by a Daesh bullet or a Daesh missile.'

Asked if they had the capability to shoot the RAF warplanes down, he said: 'In theory yes, what I would say though is every time they do that they expose themselves.

'I think as the campaign changes they will try different tactics and certainly firing at coalition aircraft is a tactic which thus far has proved to be pretty fool hardy for those who are doing it.'

He said they had 'sporadically' tried to hit RAF jets over the past year, adding: 'It's not a tactic they deploy regularly. We anticipate that they will do whatever is necessary when they get desperate and they are pretty desperate at the moment.'

Sir Michael Fallon said IS could be driven out of Iraq in months, as he laid out plans to retake Mosul (file image)

Although coalition helicopters could have bullet holes in them, none of the fixed wing aircraft had been actually damaged (file image)

He said although coalition helicopters could have bullet holes in them, none of the fixed wing aircraft had been actually damaged.

Speaking from London, Lieutenant-General Mark Carleton-Smith, the deputy chief of the defence staff (operations), said: 'There have been reports of engagements, several I think of United Kingdom aircraft but to no material effect.

'The principle is that they detect the missile as it is launched.'