The UK Parliament has opted to back British participation in air strikes against positions held by Islamic State extremists in Iraq.
MPs backed military action by 524 votes to 43 after a seven-hour debate.
All parties backed air strikes, although individual MPs expressed concerns over where the engagement would lead.
RAF planes could see action this week after the decision.
Prime Minister, David Cameron, told parliament that military action against ISIS would need to last for ‘years’ as he argued his case for intervention.
He was expected to win a parliamentary vote on whether the country could join the United States and other allies in bombing Isis targets in Iraq.
“Is there a threat to the British people? The answer is yes,” Cameron told parliament.
When challenged, he added: “This is about psychopathic terrorists who are trying to kill us. Like it or not they have already declared war on us. There isn’t a walk on by option.”
Cameron won support from Labour leader Ed Miliband who said inaction would lead to “more killing” in Iraq, large swathes of which are controlled by Islamic State.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said it was “impossible to reason with” Islamic State and the UK should not be “paralysed” by the legacy of the 2003 Iraq War.
And Mr Miliband – who a year ago forced the prime minister to abandon plans for air strikes against the Syrian regime by inflicting a Commons revolt on the issue – said the UK “cannot simply stand by”.
