The US-led coalition widened its air strikes against ISIS in Syria yesterday as British warplanes took off for anti-jihadist missions over neighbouring Iraq.

The targets in Syria were said to include ISIS fighters around the besieged Kurdish town of Ain al-Arab, which the militants have been battling to capture.

The coalition also hit ISIS in the central province of Homs for the first time, as well as in Minbej, near the western limit of the group's control.

Meanwhile, Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 combat jets armed with laser-guided bombs took off from Britain's RAF Akrotiri base on Cyprus for missions over Iraq.