Britain's 'unique' Brimstone missiles still haven't killed any Isis fighters in Syria

Ministers claimed the missiles would be useful because the US did not have access to them

The smart-missile cited as a major reason for Britain joining the bombing campaign in Syria has killed zero Isis militants there, it has been revealed.

A freedom of information request by the Huffington Post UK website found the Brimstone missile has not yet recorded any casualties in Syria since bombing started.

Only Britain and Saudi Arabia have access to Brimstone missiles and the Government argued that the weapon would represent a unique contribution by the RAF to fighting Isis.

Conservative minister David Jones described the weapons as “unique” while MP Sir Gerland Howarth said they represented a “key difference between us and other coalition partners”.

David Cameron himself said Brimstone missiles were among "some of the most accurate weapons known to man" and noted that the United States did not have access to them.

Brimstone missiles have a “fire and forget” capability and it has been claimed their introduction would help reduce civilian casualties and hit targets other weapons could not.

Ministry of Defence figures however show only seven Isis casualties since the RAF joined in last year – five from US-made Hellfire missiles and two from the Paveway IV laser-guided bombs.

The missiles were not even used once in the first month of operations, with their first recorded deployment on 10 January against supply trucks in Raqqa.

Brimstone has in total been used in nine raids since the vote and the end of last month.

Each missile costs around £100,000. They are used to attack ground targets and use radar homing and laser guidance technology; the weapons can destroy targets from seven miles away.

The RAF has deployed around half a dozen war planes in Syria to join US and other coalition jets fighting there.

The Ministry of Defence said in its FOI response: “Since December 2015 UK military air activity has contributed to the Coalition’s aim of disrupting and degrading Daesh military infrastructure, logistics and revenue streams inside Syria.

“This includes targeting oil infrastructure and enabling equipment under Daesh control, helping to reduce their ability to profit from selling oil to fund their activities.

“We have also targeted Daesh’s military equipment and infrastructure, including vehicles, defensive fighting positions firing on friendly forces, a tunnel complex, weapons stores and a command and control centre.

“We estimate that 7 Daesh combatants have been killed or wounded as a result of RAF airstrikes in Syria between 2 December 2015 and 29 January 2016.”