Airstrikes alone will not win the war against the Islamic State and the Western governments' decision to rule out ground troops is a major mistake, a former chief of the United Kingdom military told the Sunday Times over the weekend.

"The only way to defeat Isis (ISIS) is to take back land they are occupying which means a conventional military operation," said former chief of the British defense staff, General Lord Richards.

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He said a conventional military campaign similar to the operations launched against Saddam Hussein in 2003 is what will crush the Islamic State group, also known as Daesh in Arabic.

Criticizing the airstrike campaign mounted by the United States and its allies, General Richards said that ultimately, a land army will be necessary to achieve the anti-Islamic State coalition's goal to "degrade and destroy" the terror group.

The airstrikes are only limited to destroying elements of the self-styled group that has declared Islamic caliphate by seizing Iraqi and Syrian territories, said General Richards.

Although he said that the political resistance against sending ground troops is understandable, he maintained that a comprehensive military operation that relies on western boots on the ground will ensure its success.

Richards' remarks came after the British Royal Air Force (RAF) deployed its first combat mission against Islamic State targets in Syria.

The British Parliament has ruled out attack against the notorious Sunni fundamentalist group in Syria, even after the United States and five of its Arab allies have already conducted aerial bombardments in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa.

After seven hours of reconnaissance mission on Saturday, the RAF failed to identify any Islamic State targets in northern Iraq.

This could be attributed to the more sophisticated tactics the Islamist group has employed to limit exposure to aerial attacks, according to the Sunday Times. It has also reported that the group has made decoy targets across Iraq by raising its distinct black flags in heavily populated areas.

TagsISIS, ISIL, Daesh, Airstrikes, anti-ISIS coalition, RAF