Stand Up Be Counted: Should Britain Attack IS?

Young people are less likely than their parents or grandparents to support British airstrikes against Islamic State, according to a new poll.

The majority of 18 to 24-year-olds (47%) support attacks on key targets but the level of backing is far greater among the over-60s (59%), research by YouGov found.

Only around four in 10 young people say they would approve of airstrikes in Syria and there is even less support for sending ground troops into Iraq to fight IS (26%).

With Britain likely to join the US, France and five Arab states in launching aerial attacks, possibly by the weekend, the issue of military intervention has become a talking point among Sky News' Stand Up Be Counted community.

Luke Herbert filmed a video to suggest starting a bombing campaign would be the "worst thing" the UK could do.

"Bombs don't discriminate like we do," he said in a message which also tackled the "sickening" level of racial hatred in comments on news stories about IS.

"We can see one person as bad and another as okay but a bomb sees two people as the same and blows them both up.

"That's where we have a problem. People are dying who aren't necessarily involved... and if an innocent person gets hit, how are we any better than them?

"We're continuing to kill ... and they'll perceive us as killing indiscriminately."

In his blog post, Angus_11497 said tensions in the Middle East appeared "frightfully similar" to those in the run-up to World War Two.

"Instead of the anti-Semitism that was the view of the Nazi Party, IS is now denouncing every religion, apart from Islam, and slaughtering innocent civilians," he said.

"Over the past few months, IS has grown in notoriety through propaganda and media coverage of atrocities which has led to many ... being 'brainwashed' into joining their cause.

"As a history student learning these startling facts and how they compare to the past, it worries me the world of politics is slowly marching towards another world war."

Meanwhile, Bauke Schram, a journalism student at Kingston University, recorded a short video exploring the impact of IS on women in Iraq and Syria.

"Women are not allowed to work, with the exception of women working for al Khansa - an armed, all-female brigade set up to expose lawbreakers," she said.

"However, even they only get the equivalent of about £100 a month."

The thoughts of Sky's Stand Ups on IS will help shape a televised debate, as Parliament is recalled to vote on military intervention in Iraq.

Anyone aged 16 to 25 can join the discussion by uploading a short video or blog post to the Stand Up Be Counted site, where young people are also sharing their views on a variety of other subjects.