Monday 15 January – a Reaper destroyed a lorry-bomb and a terrorist truck in eastern Syria…Royal Air Force aircraft have continued to support operations by the Syrian Democratic Forces to liberate the Euphrates valley in eastern Syria from the brutality of Daesh. A Reaper remotely piloted aircraft patrolled north of Abu Kamal on Monday 15 January. An armoured truck had been spotted parked on a main road, ahead of the SDF advance, and was assessed to be a probable lorry-bomb. The Reaper’s crew used a Hellfire missile to attack the vehicle and safely eliminate any threat it might pose; the very large explosion that resulted confirmed that it could indeed have posed a very dangerous risk to the SDF and the local civilian population. Later in the patrol, terrorists were spotted interacting with a truck, well concealed under trees. A second Hellfire missile was fired, and guided with great precision through the treeline to score a direct hit. Multiple secondary explosions followed as the truck’s cargo detonated.